#@architecture@# (Or "micro") A computer whose entire CPU is The important characteristics of a microprocessor are the The first commercial microprocessor was the Intel 4004 which appeared in 1971. This was the CPU member of a set of four originally designed for use in a calculator but was marketed as "programmable controller for logic replacement". The 4004 is referred to as a 4-bit microprocessor since it processed only 4 bits of data at a time. This very short word size is due mainly to the limitations imposed by the maximum integrated circuit density then achievable. As integrated circuit densities increased with the rapid development of integrated circuit manufacturing technology, the power and performance of the microprocessors also increased. This is reflected in the increase in the CPU word size to 4, 8, 16, and by mid-1980s, 32 bits. The smaller nevertheless suitable as controllers for a very wide range of applications such as car engines and microwave ovens. The larger, more recent microprocessors families have gradually acquired most of the features of large computers. As the microprocessor industry has matured, several families of microprocessors have evolved into de facto industrial standards with multiple manufacturers and numerous "support" A single chip microprocessor may include other components such The one-chip microcomputer is in many respects, a landmark development in computer technology because it reduces the computer to a small, inexpensive, and easily replaceable design component. Microcomputers have given rise to a new class of are small low cost computers that are designed to sit on an ordinary office desk or to be portable and fuelled the computer boom of the late 1980s. The most widespread example range of personal computers, as have several other companies. (2002-07-16)
|
