Using The I2C Bus
The I2C bus is used for communications between individual integrated circuits located on the same PCB. The I2C protocol supports multi-master, multi-slave communication, which means you can add a lot of functionality to your design. More ...
Microprocessor Counter, Clock, Timer Circuits
All the circuitry in the microprocessor, in fact all the circuitry on the motherboard require a clock signal for operation. The clock signal is the heartbeat of the system. Without a clock signal, the microprocessor and the computer are dead. More ...
Digital Logic Transfer Characteristics
In the real world, gates don't transfer logic levels instantaneously. The time it takes for electrons and holes to move through the semiconductor material (called propagation delay) in CMOS are less than 100 ps (pico seconds), but there are other delays caused by resistance, capacitance, and inductance. More ...
The Evolution of Hard Disk Bit Recording
Hard drive technology has continuously improved over the decades, that includes higher storage capacity performance. Part of this improvement has been higher access speeds, but most of the higher storage capacity has been the result of changes in the bit recording methods. More ...
Monolithic Kernel vs Microkernel vs Hybrid Kernel
An operating system consists of two parts, the kernel space which operates in privileged mode, and the user space which operates in unprivileged mode. More ...
Basic Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) Circuitry
One of the primary functions performed by a computer is mathematics. This article describes some of the logic circuits used to create the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) of a microprocessor. More ...
Difference between Stack, Heap, and Queue
Stack, heap, and queue are ways that elements are stored in memory. Stack elements are added to the top of the stack, and removed from the top of the stack. The mnemonic LIFO is used to describe a stack (Last-In-First-Out). With a queue, the first one in is the first one out. The mnemonic FIFO is used to describe a queue. A heap is an area of memory where elements can be stored and removed in any order. More ...
Multicore Programming
A recent trend in system design is to place multiple computing cores on a single chip. Each core appears as a separate processor to the operating system. We call these multicore or multiprocessor systems. More ...
The Computer's Chipset
A computers memory and peripheral ports connect through two highly integrated chips called simply the chipset. The chipset consists of a northbridge chip and a southbridge chip. More ...
Microcontrollers
A microcontroller is an IC that contains a microprocessor as well as RAM, ROM and general I/O ports. Engineers design microcontrollers into specific-purpose devices such as microwave ovens, cars, washing machines, refridgerators, and even space probes. More ...
AMD's Phenom Processor
AMD released the first Phenom processor in 2007. Unlike Intel's Core 2 Quad processors, which are a multi-chip module (MCM) design, AMD's Phenom processors had all cores on the same silicon die. More ...
Introduction to Microprocessor Programming
Assembly language involves using instructions that are mnemonics called opcodes, along with values and/or addresses in hexadecimal notation. To make learning as easy as possible, we'll first learn how to program a simple microprocessor, the 6502. More ...
