Book excerpt: The 8051 architecture developed by Intel has proved to be the most popular and enduring type of microcontroller, available from many manufacturers and widely used for industrial applications and embedded systems as well as being a versatile and economical option for design prototyping, educational use and other project work.In this book the authors introduce the fundamentals and capabilities of the 8051, then put them to use through practical exercises and project work. The result is a highly practical learning experience that will help a wide range of engineers and students to get through the steepest part of the learning curve and become proficient and productive designing with the 8051. The text is also supported by practical examples, summaries and knowledge-check questions.The latest developments in the 8051 family are also covered in this book, with chapters covering flash memory devices and 16-bit microcontrollers.Dave Calcutt, Fred Cowan and Hassan Parchizadeh are all experienced authors and lecturers at the University of Portsmouth, UK. - Increase design productivity quickly with 8051 family microcontrollers - Unlock the potential of the latest 8051 technology: flash memory devices and16-bit chips - Self-paced learning for electronic designers, technicians and students