MSP430 Microcontroller Basics
Using both C and assembly language, this book combines a tutorial approach with a description of the CPU and main peripherals that builds from a basic program for lighting LEDs to the use of a timer.
TABLE OF CONTENTS MSP430 Microcontroller Basics
Chapter 1: Embedded Electronic Systems and Microcontrollers
This chapter provides a short introduction to embedded electronic systems, where they are used, and ways in which they can be implemented. Microcontrollers were originally developed from microprocessors for use in embedded electronic control systems, as their name implies. They include a processor and most or all of the memory, clock, and other systems needed to support it. Everything is inside a single package, which is why a microcontroller is often described as a "computer on a chip." I review the main features of a typical small microcontroller before setting the scene for the rest of the book with the MSP430.
1.1 What (and Where) are Embedded Systems?
Suppose that you asked people in the developed world to show you the products in their house that contained "computer chips." (Admittedly, this term is deliberately vague.) Probably they would point to a personal computer and stop there. If you tried harder, you might be offered a game console or personal digital assistant. It is unlikely that they would mention cellular phones, which contain a startling degree of processing power just for communication, to say nothing of taking photographs and playing games. There is hardly an electrical consumer product nowadays that does not rely on digital control. This seems reasonable for washing machines and video recorders, but one might wonder why a toaster or a kettle needs any digital electronics. These products contain embedded electronic systems: The processor supports the operation of the product but is not the main reason for...
Copyright Elsevier Ltd. 2008 under license agreement with Books24x7
