Re: Programmer / Evaluation Board / Development Board

On Sun, 1 Jun 2008 04:10:07 -0700 (PDT), Tomás Ó hÉilidhe
<toe@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Jun 1, 1:19 am, Rich Webb <bbew...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Personal preferences:
8 bits: AVR
16 bits: MSP430
32 bits: NXP's LPC2xxx ARM7s


What influences your choice of 8-Bit, 16-Bit or 32-Bit? Is one more
expensive than the other? I understand that if you're commonly dealing
with 32-Bit numbers on an 8-Bit uC, that you'll be using 4
instructions (at least) all the time instead of 1. So, before
embarking on the project, do you have a think about what kind of
numbers you'll be working with?

I've only ever done one full embedded project and I didn't use
anything larger than an 8-Bit number. However, if I were making
something like an internet router, would I be wise to get a 32-Bit
microcontroller because I'd be dealing with IP addresses all the time?
Or then again, what if I can find an 8-Bit CPU that runs 6 times
faster and is half the price... would I be better going with that?

What other reasons are there for deciding on bitness of the core?

Essentially, matching the requirements and constraints to the
solution. Engineering, ya know. What parts are actually available? Is
EOL an issue, and what's the manufacturer's EOL history? What's the
cost? The lifecycle quantity? Production quantity? Should we spin our
own board or use somebody else's? What peripherals are needed? How
complex is it? What tools are available? Cost? How are they supported?
Personal project, where free is good and the GPL isn't an issue or
commercial where it may be?

An ATtiny15 that has 8 pins and no RAM at all, just the processor
registers and a 3-level stack, was great for a little temperature
monitor and fan controller.

OTOH, an Infineon C515C (MCS51-family) was the solution for something
else because it was living on the best-fit SBC.

For a CAN gateway, is it better to use a couple of small 8-bitters
with one CAN controller each and an SPI link between them, or an ARM
with two integral CAN controllers? It depends ...

--
Rich Webb Norfolk, VA
.

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