Micro-Processor and Micro-Controller

Hello Bloggers,
  
today I am going to tell you something about micro-processors, micro-controllers and difference between both of them.

Micro-Processor:

It is an integral circuit that contains all the function of Central Processing Unit of a computer. It is also known as logic chip. They are made of Silicon so they are also known as Silicon chips. They are basically responsible for manipulating data and performing numeric calculations and logical comparisons.

Micro-Processor have tiny transistors, here transistors work as a switch which allows computers to process information in the form of electrical signals i.e. On or Off or we can term them as ones and zeros.

Intel made the 1^st commercial micro-processor named Intel 4004 in 1970s. 4004 contained 2000 transistors. By the 2000s microprocessor containing more than 5 million transistors on a single chip was introduced which was obviously faster than their ancestors. From this we can conclude that more the number of transistor more the performance and speed.

Micro-Processor does three basic things:

1.     Using ALU, it performs Mathematical operations.

2.     It moves data from one memory to another memory.

3.     It makes decisions.

A simple diagram of microprocessor capable to do the above things is shown below.

Address Bar: Sends address to memory.

Data Bar: Send or Receive data from memory.

Read & Write: Tells the memory to send or receive address location.

Clock: It lets clock pulse sequence the processor.

Rest: It resets the program counter to zero and restart execution.

Programming micro-processor:

Assembly language or Machine language is used to program a micro-processor. For programming micro-processor, 1^st we have to write program in laptop or PC then we have to feed it in an external RAM or ROM by using ROM/RAM Programmer. Then we have to connect that RAM/ROM to the micro-processor and after that it will act according to that program. For programming micro-processor you should know Assembly Language.

Classification according to their applications:

Micro-Controller:

A micro-controller is a small computer on a single integrated circuit which have a processor core, memory and programmable input/output peripheral which are built for the purpose of dealing with specific tasks. They are mainly used in products that require a degree of controls to be executed by user.

Micro-Controller contains the following components:

·        CPU: It is responsible for fetching the instruction, decodes it then execute it.

·        Memory: It works as a micro-processor. It is used to store data and program. RAM and ROM are used as a memory.

·        Input/output ports: It is used to connect various devices like LED, LCD, etc.

·        Timers and Counters: They provide timing and counting functions like clock functions, modulations, pulse generation, etc.

·        Interrupt Controls: It is used to delay a working program internally or externally.

·        Analog-Digital Converter: Converts Analog signals to Digital signals. Input should be analog and output must be in digital form.

·        Digital-Analog Converter: It is vice versa of A/D converter. It coverts Digital to Analog signals

·        Serial Interfacing ports: They provide various serial interface between micro-controller and other peripheral.

Above mention components maybe or maybe not present in the micro-controller. It is not compulsory that you found all the above components in micro-controller.

            Programming micro-controller:

C or Assembly language is used for programming a micro-controller. Compiler or Assembler are used to convert that program in to binary form. 1^st we have to write program in respective application on your laptops or PCs and then have to compile it, if you are typing program in C language then compiler is must. After writing the program you have to feed it in micro-controller. For that a Burner/Programmer is used. It is a hardware device which has a software. Software reads content of a hex file stored on PCs/Laptops and transfer it to micro-controller to be burned. Conversion of your program to their respective hex file is done by Compiler or Assembler and they also check for the errors in the program. After burning the program to micro-controller your controller will work according to the program burned in it.

            Applications:

                        They are basically used in every gadgets like Televisions, Mobile, Computers, Video Games, in every appliances which works according to your wish.

Difference between Micro-Processor and Micro-Controller:

             The main two difference between micro-processor and micro-controller are as follows:

That’s my todays post, hope you like it and hope you got to learn something. Stay tuned for more. Yours JordaN signing out, Sayonara.