Dr. Mohanad A. Shehab & Dr.

Tariq Mohamad
Lecture1. MICROPROCESSOR vs. MICROCONTROLLER

The first step to enter modern embedded system (ES) world is simply knows the differences between
microcontroller (µC) and microprocessor (µP); that will be true if we assume that the most important
elements in any ES are the processing and controlling units.

Microprocessor: is an integrated circuit that performs the central processing and internal functions of a
computer (Computers).
So, from the previous definition the µP is considered a CPU, it has only three repeated functions:
Fetch  Decode  Execute
And this implies that if we decide to use a µP in our design, we should use many supporting elements
such as main memory, program memory and I/O controller show figure 1.1. There are many
manufacturers for microprocessor table1.1 lists some of them:
Table1.1: The most popular microprocessor units (CPUs).
Manufacturer Products
Intel 8085, 8086, Pentium, Core 2 Due.
AMD K6, Athlon/Duron, Athlon XP
Other ARM, VIA

Figure 1.1 shows a simple abstraction view for a temperature controlling system that designed using a µP,
note that each element is a stand-alone chip and all of them are a must for the system.

Main
Memory
Microprocessor
Unit

Output device

I/O
Common Bus

Controller
(Ports)
ADC
Sensor's input
(Analog)
Figure 1.1: An embedded control system using µP unit.

Microcontroller: is a single integrated circuit that is designed to function as an embedded system

(contains a CPU, RAM, ROM, I/O ports and timers).
What a nice sound, a single chip function as a whole ES, refer to the definition and read it again, a single
die contains a CPU, RAM, ROM, I/O controller and these are the bases of any computer system i.e. CPU,
Memory, I/O. So we can take the advantage of similarity between the µC and any computer system to
give the µC a general and simple definition:
A microcontroller is a computer-on-a-chip, or a single- chip computer.
This means that if we use a µC in our design then we do not concern with the connections of main
memory, I/O controller and program memory. All things that we must concern are writing system's
software and how to make hardware connections between the µC as a whole and the external world!

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To be more clearly, suppose that the previous temperature control system shown in figure1.1, is
implemented using a µC has an on-chip ADC like PIC16F877A then all chips will be eliminated from the
design, show figure 1.2.

Output device

Microcontroller
Unit
Sensor's input
(Analog)

Figure 1.2: An embedded control system using µC unit.

As you see the design was greatly improved, not only in the simplicity of the circuitry; using µCs will
affect cost, portability, size, power dissipation …..
Let us now re-arrange all things in graphical and a tabular form, figure 1.3 shows the internal architecture
of a typical µC system, and its equivalent µP system, note that in the microcontroller side, all devices are
packaged in the same chip, in contrast of µP system that each block is considered a stand-alone device.

I/O RAM
Program mem.

Controller

ROM

I/O
Microprocessor
External world
RAM

Controller
CPU
(CPU)
USART

USART
ROM

Interrupt Interrupt
Controller
controller
COMMON BUS

ADC

Timers RTC
CCP
Typical µC Typical µp

Figure 1.3: µC vs. µP, a graphical view.

Table 1.2 lists the most important differences.

Table 1.2: µC vs. µP.
COMPARISON FACTOR MICROCONTROLLER MICROPROCESSOR
Technology approach RISC CISC
Architecture Harvard Von Neumann
Memory size Small (KB, a few MB) Large (MB, GB, TB)
Applications Simple Complex, Advanced
Instruction cycle Single Multiple
Instruction format Symmetric Individual
Execution speed Slow (KHz, <= 40MHz) Fast (MHz, GHz)
Cost Low High
Power dissipation Low High

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PIC MICROCONTROLLER UNIT (PIC MCU)
There are many companies in the world that considered the leader of a specific market in a specific
product, like Intel (Pentium Microprocessors), Microsoft (Windows OS) and Nokia (Nokia Mobile
phones).
Although there are many manufacturers for MCUs, look at table2.1; but the most familiar and well known
is PIC's manufacturer; Microchip semiconductor.
Here we not concerned with how Microchip became the leader of MCUs market from a marketing view.
We will look at the engineering side, and ask why do the majority of engineers, developers and hobbyists
choose PIC in their projects?
Table 2.1: The most popular MCUs manufacturer.
Company Products
Microchip PIC12, PIC16, PIC18, dsPIC, PIC24
Intel, Philips 8051, P89C664
Atmel ATtiny24,AT90S1200, ATmega
Motorola 68HC11

PIC16 identification:
PIC is generally assumed to mean Peripheral Interface Controller, it comes with a variety of families;
PIC10 and PIC12 (Base-line), PIC16 (Mid-range), PIC17 (High-end), PIC18 (enhancement), Finally
PIC24 and dsPIC. Here we will deeply look at PIC16 family and highlights on other families' features if
needed. PIC16F877A is our interest MCU in this family.

PIC16F877A:
PIC16F877A is a 40 pin chip, operating at a frequency up to 20MHz, it has five I/O ports
A(6),B(8),C(8),D(8),E(3) mapping to 33 pins, the following points highlight the most important features:
1- 8Kx14bit Program memory space.
2- Five I\O ports.
3- 8 multiplexed analog ports, with internal 10bit resolution ADC.
4- 15 kinds of interrupts.
5- 256 Bytes of user EEPROM.
6- Two Capture\Compare\PWM modules (CCP).
7- Three timers with different capabilities.
8- RS-232, I2C, and SPI interfaces (USART, MSSP).
9- 368B of RAM.
10- Wide operating frequency DC-20MHz.
11- Wide operating voltage 2.0v – 5.5v.

Note that a single pin can have many functions, for example pin2 can be a digital I/O (RA0) or analog
input (AN0); the function of the pin will be controlled using software, figure 2.1 illustrates the
PIC16F877A layout in more details.
PIC16F877A as other PIC families is implemented using RISC approach, with only 35 instructions; you
can build great projects, security, control, talking with GSM system, linking to the internet,
communicating with PCs and more.

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Figure 2.1: PIC16F877A pins layout.

Many engineers and developers choose it in their projects and designs for three main reasons:

1. PIC16F877A comes with a variety of embedded modules.

2. PIC16F877A is considered a low cost MCU.
3. It has wide supporting articles in the internet.
The F letter in its name stand for Flash technology, Flash EEPROM, a version of EEPROM memory, has
become popular in microcontroller applications and is used to store the user program. Flash EEPROM is
nonvolatile and usually very fast. The data can be erased and then reprogrammed using a suitable
programming device thausands and thausands of times. Letter A at the end of PIC16F877A means that
this MCU is an Advanced and an improved version of a previous MCU i.e. PIC16F877.
With 8K program memory, PIC16F877A can store and run programs ranges from simple (a few lines),
mid, up to complex programs with many handreds of lines, also 368B of general purpose registers (GPR)
i.e. user RAM; this size of temporary storage aria can maintain and take complex operations either
arithmetic or logic, float or integer, strings or characters.
Knowing the internal architecture of any MCU is a must if you want to use assembly for writing
programs (in ES terminology called Firmware), contrarily of using a high level language like C; a very
little architecture knowledge is needed to write a perfect firmware.
Finally, all hardware, software aspects and the embedded modules of PIC16F877A will be taken and
explained using examples and some projects.

PIC C Compiler
There are many compilers in many languages for PIC programming such as C, Pascal, BASIC; but
the most popular language used in all MCUs programming is C. If you googled the net, you will find
many C compilers for PIC MCUs from many companies, but the most popular is PIC C from CCS, it
supports PIC12, 16, 18. Here we will learn how to write a body for any program.