The 68000 Microprocessor: Hardware and Software Principles and Applications

INTRODUCTION The rapid spread of microprocessors in society has both simplified and complicated our lives. Whether we rely on a computer at work or come in contact with one for other reasons, most of us have used a computer at one point or another. Most people know that a microprocessor is lurking somewhere inside the machinery, but what a microprocessor is and what it does remains a mystery. This book is intended to help remove the mystery concerning the 68000 microprocessor through detailed coverage of its hardware and software and by means of examples of many different applications. Some of the more elaborate applications include the Apple MacIntosh computer, commercial video games and network communications controllers. Industry has also adopted the 68000 for use in digital flight control computers and other high-level applications. The book is intended for two- or four-year electrical engineering, engineering technology, and computer science students. Professionals such as engineers and technicians would also find it a handy reference. The material is intended for a one-semester course in microprocessors. Prior knowledge of digital electronics, including combinational and sequential logic, decoders, memories, Boolean algebra, and operations on binary numbers, is required. This presumes knowledge of standard computer-related terms, such as RAM, EPROM, TTL, and so on. Some prior experience with microprocessors is helpful but not necessary. CHAPTER TOPICS For those individuals who have no previous knowledge of microprocessors, Chapter 1, Microprocessor-Based Systems, and Appendix E, A Review of the 6800 Microprocessor, are a good introduction to the microprocessor. Other textbooks rarely pay equal attention to both hardware and software. This book was written to give equal treatment to both, culminating in a practilcal exercise: building and programming your own single-board computer!