Microprocessor-based digital system design fundamentals and the development laboratory for hardware designers and engineering executives

This paper reviews the fundamentals of the basic digital computer sufficient enough for the hardware engineers and engineering executives to deal with microprocessors as components in digital system design. Two examples are used as a vehicle to guide the readers who are presumingly accustomed to thinking in hardware terms towards thinking in software. An algorithm utilizing state-minimization concepts to implement sequential logic by a set of mnemonic instructions is introduced. A brief view of microcomputer software is then presented as an attempt to arouse the designer's awareness of application, system, and development-aid softwares. Next, economic considerations are presented for overall decision making. Finally, a minicomputer-driven microprocessor laboratory oriented to both teaching and system development purposes is described. For completeness as well as for a comparison of the logic realization by INSTRUCTIONS with that implementation of logic by hardwire logic, ROM, and PLA, the latter age included in Appendices I and II. An extensive bibliography is provided for interested readers who wish to persue this topic further.