Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!apple!motcsd!mcdcup!mcdhup!mcdchg!laidbak!tellab5!nucsrl!accuvax.nwu.edu!anaxagoras!ils.nwu.edu!newton From: newton@ils.nwu.edu (David Newton) Newsgroups: sci.electronics Subject: Re: micro-controller Message-ID: <1936@anaxagoras.ils.nwu.edu> Date: 28 Sep 90 04:54:50 GMT References: <656@isgtec.UUCP> Sender: news@anaxagoras.ils.nwu.edu Reply-To: newton@ils.nwu.edu (David Newton) Distribution: sci.electronics Lines: 22 The Microchip Technology PIC16C5X series uses Harvard Architecture, something I wouldn't be quick to call "brain-damaged". This little puppy can bang out 5mips or so, so the lack of address space is really the only problem as far as I see it. It has an 8-bit wide register file, too, unlike the General Instrument part (which I know nothing about save for what is in Eric Smith's article). The combination of low pin count and speed (I think) compensate for the lack of memory/IO, since for many applications, a 4-bit port and an 8-bit port are all that is necessary. I might also add (in fact, I think I will) that Microchip Tech. also produces a version PIC16C57xx that has 2Kx12 EPROM and 80 bytes of 8-bit RAM. The 2K eprom is broken into 4 511-byte pages. Maybe if we hooked an MMU to it? (It's a joke, son...) dln Standard Dis-clamor: I'm not affiliated with Microchip Technology, I just think it's a funky little chip that must be good for something.