Preface

By 1980, the microcomputer had changed so many aspects of engineering that the cliche "microcomputer revolution" echoed from almost every other magazine article and earned paper in the field. It is a great tool. This book's ancestor, Microcomputer nterfacing: Principles and Practices, was written at that time to establish some design heory for this dynamic field. A successor book, which is this book's predecessor,

Singleand Multiple-Chip Microcomputer Interfacing, was motivated by two significant changes: the evolution of powerful single-chip microcomputers and the IEEE Computer Society Curriculum Committee recommendation for a course on microcomputer interfacing and communication. The development of powerful single-chip microcomputers introduces a new design choice: to use either a microprocessor in a personal computer with some 16M bytes of memory and an operating system or a less costly single-chip microcomputer with much less overhead. This decision is largely based on the designer's understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the singlechip microcomputer. The development of a standard curriculumfor a course lent stability o this field. The book aimed to teach the principles and practices of microcomputer systems design in general, and interfacing in particular, and to foster an understanding of single-chip microcomputers within the guidelines of the IEEE Computer Society Curriculum Committee's recommendations. This book was motivated by the development of the Motorola 6812, and its need for more sophisticated software. Since he 6812 featured so many on-chip I/O devices, which were already connected to the 6812's address and data buses, but which each had to be programmed, and managing a number of I/O devices often necessitated the use of time sharing, this book features programming in C and C++.However, the designer must be wary of high-level language statements that do not do what he or she intended. High-level languages are designed for algorithms, not for I/O interfacing, and optimizing high-level language compilers can "optimize you right out of business." The designer is shown how each high-level anguage statement is implemented in assembler language.

This book's predecessor evolved from a set of notes for a senior level course in microcomputer design. The course - which is still taught - focuses on the combined hardware/software design of microcomputer systems. It emphasizes principles of design because theory is as necessary for a solid foundation in design as theory is in any engineering discipline. However, it also emphasizes the practices - the details of howto get a system to work - because microcomputer system design requires hands-on experience. There is a remarkable difference between a student who merely reads about microcomputers and a student who has worked with one - clear evidence that theory has o be taught with practice. Practical experience is desirable in almost any engineering course. This is not always possible. But microcomputer systems are inexpensive enough hat the school or the student can afford this hands-on opportunity; and the joy of seeing he principles work is so attractive that the student often can't get enough of the material o be satiated. The development of very powerful, inexpensive single-chip microcomputers furthers this opportunity. So the course, this book's predecessor, and his book, all emphasize both the principles and practices of microcomputer design.