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2 - How does a typical microcontroller work?
2.1 THE CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT
What is the Central Processing Unit (CPU)?
It is made up of the core, and auxiliary blocks like the clock generator, the reset circuitry, etc.
The CPU of a microcontroller is the actual programmed logic circuitry that is the heart of the
application based around the microcontroller. It is where all computation and decision-making
takes place. The CPU acts on data received from the outside world through the peripherals;
this data is processed in a predetermined way to produce more data that will act on the the
outside world.
The CPU is the part of a microcontroller that corresponds to what is usually called a micro-
processor. A microprocessor contains only the computing logic; it must be surrounded with
devices like memory and input-output interfaces. A microcontroller bundles all these in a
single chip. For simple projects, this allows an application to be built with just one chip plus a
few components. This has been made possible by progress in the scale of integration that al-
lows powerful chips to be manufactured at a relatively low cost. This has opened up a new and
very wide application field: bringing the capabilities of a computer to even the cheapest appli-
ances. For example, nowadays home audio systems incorporate a radio receiver, a CD
player, two cassette decks and an amplifier and speakers; all controlled by a common control
panel with a large display that shows the FM frequency, or the CD track number and elapsed
time, etc. Here, a single microcontroller performs the overall control, displays the data, re-
sponds to the keys that are pressed by the user to select the required radio channel, CD track,
etc.
The word data, that is so commonly used, must be understood here in the widest sense.
Though we may first think of data as numbers, data are not only numbers; they may be a wide
range of objects like binary values (the state of an on/off switch), the voltage at a terminal (the
wiper of a potentiometer), a character string (a piece of text), and many other things. The fact
that data is thought of as numbers just comes from the fact that we are discussing machines
based on binary signals. Virtually all the data processors in the world only process binary
digits. These binary digits (bits) are always grouped in packs of variable lengths that are proc-
essed in parallel, thus multiplying the processor throughput by the number of these bits proc-
essed at the same time.
The first microprocessors, historically, were four-bit machines. There are still four-bit micro-
controllers sold today for simple applications like telephones, washing machines, and others
requiring little processing power.
In the sense that is given to this word today, a microprocessor is at least a 8-bit wide machine.
The market is shared between machines of several types, with their power increasing along
with the number of bits they can process in parallel. The following table gives an overview of
the main classes of microprocessors today.