Enterprise Internet of Things Handbook

Microcontroller versus microprocessor

Before we go further, it is good to have an understanding of how a microcontroller and a microprocessor are different:

Microprocessor	Microcontroller
Only CPU; other peripherals are interfaced via the CPU bus	CPU + (Flash) Memory + RAM + ROM + I/O + Timers + UARTS + ADC + DAC and so on on a single chip
General purpose	Single purpose
High processing power	Low processing power
Power hungry	Can work on a battery
Runs an OS (for example, Linux)	Runs on a tight loop approach and can support OSs such as Real Time Operating System (RTOS)

 

In a typical IoT scenario, smart devices do only one job, for example reading the door sensor data and sending it to the cloud. For ...