Microcomputers and add-ons

This chapter focuses on microcomputers and add-ons. The addition of interfacing circuitry to a microcomputer provides a useful means of expanding capability and enhancing performance. It gives the microcomputer the ability to communicate with a variety of external devices, or other computer systems. A simple microcomputer can be utilized with dedicated hardware. If a microcomputer needs to be purchased for a specific application, the performance requirements should be specified and the designer should compare different approaches to obtain the optimum solution. Users can select from a variety of off-the-shelf interface and expansion cards that are compatible with the international business machines (IBM) bus structure to satisfy their requirements. Personal microcomputers are produced by many manufacturers and are used by millions of people worldwide for a variety of applications in offices, in laboratories, on shop floors, and at home. The continuous progress in the development of faster processors led to the design of the local bus. This represents a group of lines taken from the processors bus and would operate at a rate that is defined by the processor and not by the slower expansion bus.