Hands-On RTOS with Microcontrollers

Design reuse

As processors begin to have a plethora of I/O connected to them, they may still have plenty of processing resources available but run out of available pins. At this point, there is a decision to make. ICs meant to provide port expansion are available, but should they be used? If you're designing a system with reuse in mind, it is important to see whether a subsystem approach can be employed, instead of creating a huge monolithic design, where all of the hardware and firmware is intertwined and tightly coupled. Sometimes, when the pin capacities of a single MCU are reached, it is an indication that the MCU is performing the functionality of several different subsystems. Often, if these subsystems are broken down and individually ...