Product Description

This book was written with the novice or intermediate 8052 developer in mind. Assuming no prior knowledge of the 8052, it takes the reader step-by-step through the architecture including discussions and explanations of concepts such as internal RAM, external RAM, Special Function Registers (SFRs), addressing modes, timers, serial I/O, and interrupts. This is followed by an in-depth section on assembly language which explains each instruction in the 8052 instruction set as well as related concepts such as assembly language syntax, expressions, assembly language directives, and how to implement 16-bit mathematical functions. The book continues with a thorough explanation of the 8052 hardware itself, reviewing the function of each pin on the microcontroller and follows this with the design and explanation of a fully functional single board computer—every section of the schematic design is explained in detail to provide the reader with a full understanding of how everything is connected, and why. The book closes with a section on hardware interfacing and software examples in which the reader will learn about the SBCMON monitor program for use on the single board computer, interfacing with a 4x4 keypad, communicating with a 16x2 LCD in direct-connect as well as memory-mapped fashion, utilizing an external serial EEPROM via the SPI protocol, and using the I2C communication standard to access an external real time clock.

The book takes the reader with absolutely no knowledge of the 8052 and provides him with the information necessary to understand the architecture, design and build a functioning circuit based on the 8052, and write software to operate the 8052 in assembly language.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #170144 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 348 pages

About the Author
Craig Steiner is the webmaster of 8052.com, the leading website dedicated to the 8052 microcontroller, and a founding member of Vault Information Services LLC. He has been involved in software development since 1980 and has acquired significant experience in many areas of the field as it has evolved over the last two and a half decades, including Windows-based programming, Linux-based Internet applications, Palm, and, of course, embedded 8052 development. Mr. Steiner is an independent consultant that focuses primarily on 8052-based projects and has worked with clients such as Analog Devices, TDK Semiconductor, and Texas Instruments, among others.

Customer Reviews

Clear, Concise, and Useful
Overview
Mr. Steiner's writing is very clear--opening complex topics that I previously struggled to grasp. His prose is plain and easy to digest. This is a great tutorial and reference all in one.

Introduction
"The 8051/8052 Microcontroller" is broken into several sections including Architecture, Assembly Language, Hardware & Single Board Computer, Development Tools, Hardware Interface and Software Examples, and Reference & Appendixes. Each section covers the topic well with the strongest sections being Architecturee and Assembly Language. These sections provide an excellent method for "wading in" to gradually understand the concepts including special function registers (SFRs), memory--internal and external, timers, serial IO, and interrupts as well as helping raeders to understand and use assembly language in their projects.

What's Good
The book is targeted toward people who have some programming experience and understand basic logical constructs and it hits its target well. As a seasoned Windows programmer, it was simply a matter of reading through the text for me to understand most of the concepts on the first reading. I was riveted because I was understanding so much of it. Craig does a great job of not assuming you have certain foundational knowledge. I found myself at certain points in the text asking the question in my mind "yes, but what about...", only to moments later realize the text is explaining exactly what I was wondering about. Very well done.

For years I have struggled to learn assembly language for the sake of gaining a better understanding of computer architecture. This is the first time that it "clicked" for me. I get it and can now write code using Assembly. Now, I will be using C for my projects for the most part because it asbtracts certain aspects of writing the code that are arduous when done in Assembly, however, understanding Assembly has really helped me to see exactly what is going on.

What's Bad
There is really nothing bad about this book. It is not only a good text for deepening in your understanding of the 8051/8052 architecture, but is an excellent reference to keep on your shelf when you need to recall some specific details.

That being said, I would have liked to see a section dedicated to building and/or simply using a pre-built chip programmer. This is really not a criticism because the book is really comprehensive. For me to understand at a practical level, though, it would be helpful to learn how to take the most basic elements (the MCU, crystal, capacitors, etc.) and place them on a circuit board and see them work with code that I've just downloaded to the MCU.

The section on the SBC is really good, but it feels to me like it abstracts an important part of embedded system development--assembling the parts. I want to see how things work outside of the context of a development board. Maybe Craig will add a chapter dedicated to building a basic system from parts and a programmer in the next edition.

Conclusion
"The 8051/8052 Microcontroller" is an excellent book to use to get started as well as a great reference. I have several other 8051 books including "Programming and Customizing 8051 Microcontroller" by Predko, "C and the 8051" by Schultz, and "Embedded C" by Pont. They all have their good points, however, Steiner's book brings things together in a way and doesn't assume much about the reader's base knowledge and gave me many "aha" moments I hadn't experienced with the others. If you want to learn the 8051/8052 microcontroller, buy this book!

comprehensive, complete, accurate, concise, well written
Well written and complete technical books are hard to come by; this is one of them.
After reading this book one will have no troubles programming and applying the 8051/8052 MCU. I found no other books were necessary.

A *MUST-HAVE* for ANYBODY interested in 8051/8052 or Assembly Language in general...
This guy REALLY knows his stuff, and the book is so easy to follow. I have NEVER done assembly programming, and didn't know ANY of the syntax. After a couple of chapters, I was programming in it like I had been doing it for years. The way the author lays things out makes it a breeze to learn how to open up the world of 8051/8052. I *loved* the book, and I use it as a reference ALL THE TIME.

Thanks Craig!!!!!!!

Josh