8051 Microncotroller

It is a good idea to start with the simple and most popular microcontroller 8051. The controller I am going to use is from Atmel AT89S52 microcontroller. I will start with small introduction then Assembly programing then we will use nice C compiler for programing. It cost around Rs60 and has some great features like-

Introduction

The AT89S52 is a low-power, high-performance CMOS 8-bit microcontroller with 8K bytes of in-system programmable Flash memory.

Specifications

• Compatible with MCS®-51 Products
• 8K Bytes of In-System Programmable (ISP) Flash Memory
• Fully Static Operation: 0 Hz to 33 MHz
• 256 x 8-bit Internal RAM
• 32 Programmable I/O Lines
• Three 16-bit Timer/Counters
• Full Duplex UART Serial Channel
• Fast Programming Time

Before starting it is a good idea to get familiar with internal architecture of the microcontroller.

8051 family of microcontrollers are based on "modified Harvard Architecture" which means we have different memory location for data and instruction.

1. It has internal RAM to store data and Flash memory to store Instructions. Pins are provided to attach external RAM and ROM to the microcontroller. Separate address space is used to access both memory (as well as internal and external )which is encoded in instruction itself.
2. Bit wise addressing is also possible.
3. The upper part of memory consist of SPR (Special Purpose Registers)

Hardware Required

1. AT89S52 microcontroller.
2. Crystall