Single-board microcontroller: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Microcontroller built onto a single printed circuit board}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
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|author=Peter Grigson
|author2=David Harris
|date= August–October 1983
}}</ref> made it practical to build an entire controller on a single board, as well as affordable to dedicate a computer to a relatively minor task.
 
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==Communications and user interfaces==
Communications interfaces vary depending on the age of the microcontroller system. Early systems might implement a [[serial port]] to provide [[RS-232]] or [[current loop]]. The serial port could be used by the application program or could be used, in conjunction with a monitor ROM, to transfer programs into the microcontroller memory. Current microcontrollers may support [[USB]], wireless networks ([[Wi-Fi]], [[ZigBeeZigbee]], or others), or provide an Ethernet connection. In addition, they may support a [[TCP/IP]] protocol stack. Some devices have firmware available to implement a Web server, allowing an application developer to rapidly build a Web-enabled instrument or system.
 
== Programming ==
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|title=Universal EPROM Programmer
|author=Mike Bedford
|date= August–September 1983
|pages=45–51, 37–39
}}</ref> This EPROM was then physically plugged into the board. As the EPROM would be removed and replaced many times during program development, it was common to provide a [[Zero Insertion Force|ZIF]] socket to avoid wear or damage. Erasing an EPROM with a [[ultraviolet|UV]] eraser takes a considerable time, and so it was also common for a developer to have several EPROMs in circulation at any one time.
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When the single-board controller formed the entire development environment (typically in education), the board might also have included a simple [[hexadecimal]] keypad, calculator-style LED display, and a "monitor" program set permanently in ROM. This monitor allowed [[machine code]] programs to be entered directly through the keyboard and held in RAM. These programs were in machine code, not even in assembly language, and were often assembled by hand on paper before being inputted. It is arguable as to which process was more time-consuming and error prone: assembling by hand, or keying byte-by-byte.
 
Single-board "keypad and calculator display" microcontrollers of this type were very similar to some low-end microcomputers of the time, such as the [[KIM-1]] or the [[Microprofessor I]].<ref name="KIM 1">{{cite web |title=KIM 1 |url=http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=149 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618184839/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=149 |archive-date=2021-06-18 |website=old-computers.com |publisher=Old Computers}}</ref> Some of these microprocessor "trainer" systems are still in production today, used as very low-cost introductions to microprocessors at the hardware programming level.<ref name="Microprofessor">{{cite web
|title=KIM 1
|url=http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=149
|publisher=[http://www.old-computers.com Old Computers.com]
}}</ref> Some of these microprocessor "trainer" systems are still in production today, used as very low-cost introductions to microprocessors at the hardware programming level.<ref name="Microprofessor">{{cite web
|publisher = Flite Electronics International
|title = Microprofessor Training System
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The original market demand for a simplified board implementation is no longer as relevant for microcontrollers. Single-board microcontrollers are still important, but have shifted their focus to:
 
* Easily accessible platforms aimed at traditionally "non-programmer" groups, such as artists, designers, hobbyists, and others interested in creating interactive objects or environments.<ref>[http://www.arduino.cc/ Arduino's home page]</ref> Some typical projects in 2011 included: the backup control of DMX stage lights and special effects, multi-camera control, autonomous fighting robots, controlling bluetooth projects from a computer or smart phone,<ref name="Dwengo" /> LEDs and multiplexing, displays, audio, motors, mechanics, and power control.<ref>Arduino [http://arduino.cc/forum/ User's forum]</ref> These controllers may be embedded to form part of a [[physical computing]] project. Popular choices for this work are the [[Arduino]],<ref name="Arduino, Project homepage">{{cite web |title=Project homepage |url=http://www.arduino.cc/ |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=arduino.cc |publisher=Arduino project}}</ref> [[Dwengo]]<ref name="Dwengo">{{cite web |title=Project homepage |url=http://www.dwengo.org/ |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=dwengo.org |publisher=Dwengo}}</ref><ref>
|title=Project homepage
|url=http://www.arduino.cc/
|publisher=[http://www.arduino.cc/ Arduino project]
}}</ref> [[Dwengo]]<ref name="Dwengo" >{{cite web
|title=Project homepage
|url=http://www.dwengo.org/
|publisher=[http://www.dwengo.org/ Dwengo]
}}</ref><ref>
Timothy L. Warner.
[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TUkAQAAQBAJ "Hacking Raspberry Pi"].
2013.
p. 12.
</ref> or [[Wiring (development platform)|Wiring]].<ref>Wiring.org's Wiring development platform [http://wiring.org.co/ home page]</ref><ref name="Wiring" >{{cite web |title=Wiring hardware. Overview |url=http://wiring.org.co/hardware/index.html |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=wiring.org.co |publisher=Wiring project}}</ref>
|title=Wiring: Hardware
|url=http://wiring.org.co/hardware/index.html
|publisher=[http://wiring.org.co/about.html Wiring project]
}}</ref>
* Technology demonstration boards for innovative processors or peripheral features:
** [[AVR Butterfly]]
** [[Parallax Propeller]]
 
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== Programming single-board microcontrollers ==