MSP430 Microcontroller Basics pot

[...]... which are needed for the LCD MSP430X: The original MSP430 architecture, extended to give the MSP430X in 2006, mainly so that it can address extra memory but with other improvements as well Curiously, this is not marketed as a separate family: The devices are included in the MSP430F2xx and MSP430F4xx families with nothing in their part number to distinguish them The CPU is a MSP430x if there is more than... applications, the microcontroller spends most of its time in standby mode, when a typical current is below 1 ␮A Many batteries have a larger self-discharge current than this The MSP430 can restart quickly because of its DCO, which may be an important factor in the overall power budget The application note MSP430 Competitive Benchmarking (slaa205b) contains a comparison of the MSP430 with a range of other microcontrollers... pages or banks in the memory makes the MSP430 very simple to use (The picture is a little different with the MSP430X, which has extended registers and a wider address bus that can handle up to 1 MB of memory I leave this until Chapter 11.) Another feature of the MSP430 that stems from its recent introduction is that it is designed with compilers in mind Most small microcontrollers are now programmed in... code The MSP430 has 16 registers in its CPU, which enhances efficiency because they can be used for local variables, parameters passed to subroutines, and either addresses or data This is a typical feature of a RISC, but unlike a “pure” RISC, it can perform arithmetic directly on values in main memory Microcontrollers typically spend much of their time on such operations The MSP430 is the simplest microcontroller. .. is IAR Embedded Workbench, which is available for a wide range of microcontrollers Another, Code Composer Essentials, is produced by Texas Instruments itself A third option is the GCC toolchain for MSP430 at mspgcc.sourceforge.net I have not yet mentioned the major selling point of the MSP430, which is its low power consumption Many microcontrollers are based on long-established designs with low-power... runs very slowly and the hardware is expensive if it includes an interpreter 1.7 Where Does the MSP430 Fit? An enormous number of microcontrollers is available They fill many pages of the distributors’ catalog with a tiny typeface Where does the subject of this book, the MSP430, fit into this spectrum? The MSP430 was introduced in the late 1990s, although its ancestry goes back to the 4-bit TSS400 In... or Assembly Language? Most small microcontrollers are now programmed using the C language so the question might seem redundant In fact often columns in newletters on embedded systems often carry articles with titles such as “Is Assembly Language Dead?” However, the answer seems to be clearly that assembly language is not dead for small microcontrollers, such as the MSP430 Most code is written in C... systems and microcontrollers—from tutor boxes with flip-flops to the electronic systems of a Formula Student racing car John Davies, Milngavie www.newnespress.com This page intentionally left blank CHAPTER 1 Embedded Electronic Systems and Microcontrollers This chapter provides a short introduction to embedded electronic systems, where they are used, and ways in which they can be implemented Microcontrollers... the memory, clock, and other systems needed to support it Everything is inside a single package, which is why a microcontroller is often described as a “computer on a chip.” I review the main features of a typical small microcontroller before setting the scene for the rest of the book with the MSP430 1.1 What (and Where) Are Embedded Systems? Suppose that you asked people in the developed world to show... processor This gave rise to the microcontroller (MCU or ␮C), which typically contains all of the functions needed to make a complete computer system, including memory A microcontroller also contains a selection of peripheral modules to provide commonly needed digital functions, such as timers, and often analog functions as well Inevitably the distinction between microprocessors and microcontrollers is blurred .