Microprocessor

The microprocessor plays a significant role in the everyday functioning of industrialized societies.The microprocessor can be viewed as a programmable logic devices that can be used to control processes or to turn on/off devices.On the other hand,the microprocessor can be viewed as a data processing unit or a computing unit or a computing unit of a computer.The microprocessor is a programmable integrated device that has computing and decision making capability similar to that of the central processing unit of computer.
Nowadays, the microprocessor is being used in a wide range of products called  microprocessor-based products or systems.The microprocessor can be embedded in a larger system,can stand alone unit controlling processes,or it can function as the CPU of a computer called a microcomputer.
The following section  introduces the basic structure of a microprocessor-based product and other larger computers.
The microprocessor communicates and operates in the numbers 0 and 1,called bits.Each microprocessor has a fixed set of instructions in the form of binary patterns called a machine language.However,it is difficult for humans to communicate in the language of 0s and 1s. Therefore,the binary instructions are given abbreviated names called mnemonics,which form the assembly language for given microprocessor.

A microprocessor is a multipurpose,programmable logic device that reads binary instructions from a storage devices called memory,accepts binary data as input and processes data according to those instructions,and provides results as output.A typical programmable machine can be represented with three components:Microprocessor,memory and input/output devices as shown in fig. These three components work together or interact with each other to perform a given task:thus,they comprise a system.The physical components of this system are called hardware. A set of instructions written for the microprocessor to perform a task is called a program,and group of program is called software.