AVR RISC Microcontroller Handbook

1

Some Basics

In the following chapters we will use some special terms that are perhaps not so familiar to a beginner. Some explanations should make the world of microcontroller terms and functionality more transparent.

1.1 Architecture

All microcontrollers have more or less the same function groups. Internally we find memory for instructions and data and a central processing unit (CPU) for handling the program flow, manipulating the data, and controlling the peripherals.

Figure 1-1 shows the basic function blocks in a microcontroller. The CPU communicates with each of these function blocks (memory and peripherals).

Figure 1-1 Microcontroller ...