Signed integers are numbers with a “+” or “-“ sign. If n bits are used to represent a signed binary integer number, then out of n bits, 1 bit will be used to represent a sign of the number and rest (n - 1)bits will be utilized to represent magnitude part of the number itself.A real-life example is the list of temperatures (correct to nearest digit) in various cities of the world. Obviously they are signed integers like +34, -15, -23, and +17. These numbers along with their sign have to be represented in a computer using only binary notation ... Read More

Unsigned binary integers are numbers without any ‘+’or ‘-’ sign. Here all bits representing the number will represent the magnitude part of the number only. No bits will remain reserved for sign bit representation. An unsigned binary integer is a fixed-point system with no fractional digits.Some real life Examples are −Number of tables in a class, The number of a member of a family.Obviously, they are unsigned integers like 10 and 5. These numbers have to be represented in a computer using only binary notation or using bits.Numbers are represented in a computer using a fixed size, like 4, 8, ... Read More

In this section, we will see how to connect a stepper motor with Intel 8051 Microcontroller. Before discussing the interfacing techniques, we will see what are the stepper motors and how they work.Stepper MotorStepper motors are used to translate electrical pulses into mechanical movements. In some disk drives, dot matrix printers, and some other different places the stepper motors are used. The main advantage of using the stepper motor is the position control. Stepper motors generally have a permanent magnet shaft (rotor), and it is surrounded by a stator. Normal motor shafts can move freely but the stepper motor shafts move ... Read More

In 'C', the "main" function is called by the operating system when the user runs the program and it is treated the same way as every function, it has a return type. Although you can call the main() function within itself and it is called recursion. Recursion is nothing but calling the same function by the function itself.How Do Recursion and Function Calling Work?You must be thinking that when the main() function calls inside main(), recursion goes on infinitely. But that is not true and it is important to know how recursion and function calling works. The function calls work ... Read More

In this section we will see how DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) using Intel 8051 Microcontroller. We will also see the sinewave generation using DAC.The Digital to Analog converter (DAC) is a device, that is widely used for converting digital pulses to analog signals. There are two methods of converting digital signals to analog signals. These two methods are binary weighted method and R/2R ladder method. In this article we will use the MC1408 (DAC0808) Digital to Analog Converter. This chip uses R/2R ladder method. This method can achieve a much higher degree of precision. DACs are judged by its ... Read More

In this section we will see how to write and execute programs for 8051 microcontroller using the Keil Software.Download KeilHere is the download link of Keil. You can download it and install it very easily. We are using C51 version for 8051 devices.https://www.keil.com/download/product/Use Keil to write programs for 8051 MicrocontrollerStart the Keil software. Go to the Project > New Project then choose a location to store your program, and give a name and Save.Now in the next window select the device from different manufacturers. We are selecting Microchip, and then by expanding we are selecting AT89C51 device and click ok.Now ... Read More

Here we will see how external RAM memories can be addressed by the Intel 8051 microcontroller. There are different methods for addressing the RAMs. Now at first we will discuss about some different types of RAM memories in short.The RAM (Random Access Memory) is volatile memory. So when the power is cutting off to the RAM chip, it losses the data. RAMs are also known as RAWM (Read and Write Memory). There are basically three kinds of RAMs. These are SRAM (Static RAM), NV-RAM (Non-Volatile RAM) and DRAM (Dynamic RAM).Static RAMThe storage cell in Static RAM are made of flip-flops. ... Read More

There could be quite a few reasons for that and before looking at other reasons, it makes sense if we consider the fact that smartphones have been designed to work smartly, which also means their functionality has been optimized for computing on the go. Going a little deeper, the reason a mail comes faster on smartphones than on desktops could be because the smartphone has its map settings and location on while the received time is prolonged on a desktop because the email server might have been set in a manner that it checks mail every 10, 15, 20 minutes ... Read More

High level language is the next development in the evolution of computer languages. Examples of some high-level languages are given belowPROLOG (for “PROgramming LOGic”)FORTRAN (for ‘FORrmula TRANslation’)LISP (for “LISt Processing”)Pascal (named after the French scientist Blaise Pascal).High-level languages are like English-like language, with less words also known as keywords and fewer ambiguities. Each high level language will have its own syntax and keywords. The meaning of the word syntax is grammar.Now let us discuss about the disadvantages of high-level languagesA high level language program can’t get executed directly. It requires some translator to get it translated to machine language. There ... Read More

After machine level language, the next level of development in the evolution of computer languages was the Assembly Language. Machine level language uses only the binary language. But on the other hand, assembly language uses mnemonics or symbolic instructions in place of a sequence of 0s and 1s. As example, we can consider that, to add register A and B in a particular computer, assembly language uses the mnemonic ‘ADD B’ in place of 10001111. In assembly language, we use symbolic names to denote addresses and data. A number of such examples are dealt with in the successive chapters. Thus ... Read More