PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE FOR THE 8051

If you are interested in programming then you are definitely familiar with some programming language and probably written few programs or compiled few codes. If you are not, then I strongly insist that you check it out first i-e read the basics of programming. Writing codes for the 8051 microcontroller is not much different. You choose some programming language for yourself and then you start writing codes in the correct environment. That's all it takes.

UPDATE: You can also click this link for an updated version of this post.

PROGRAMMING THE 8051

To use the 8051 microcontroller, you definitely need to program it first for the intended purpose. What does that mean actually? The 8051 itself is just a piece of hardware capable of doing nothing at all. It is actually the software that makes it intelligent and gives some meaning to its life. The software defines the purpose of the 8051 or solution to a particular problem. Now how to program it? It's very simple to understand.

UPDATE: Visit this link for a newer  and updated version of this post - with detailed instructions.

8051 INPUT OUTPUT PORTS

The AT89C51 from ATMEL is the most commonly used variation of the 8051 microcontroller because of the built-in Flash which makes programming / burning very easy. The 8051 has a total of 4 ports for input / output operations which means you can transfer data in or out of the microcontroller through these ports. Let's have a brief introduction to these ports.

UPDATE: You can also click this link for an updated version of this post.

8051 PINOUTS

Let's get started. At this point, I assume that you are already familiar with the concept of microcontrollers (specially the 8051) and have some rough idea about the internal architecture because I will avoid going into it. I will just stick to how-to-use tricks for the 8051. However, for a brief introduction, let me highlight the important aspects of it.

UPDATE: You can also click this link for an updated version of this post.

WHERE AM I HEADED

Hello there,

Just recently I met the 8051 microcontroller in one of our semester's course. Being interested in Programming and Digital Logic Design myself, I simply loved playing with it as it is actually the combination of both. It tests both your software and hardware skills for a successful outcome. The fun part is that it's always a go or no-go situation which means that whatever you build, it works or it doesn't work. In either case it's pretty much easier to analyse the problem.