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ARM as replacement for 8051

David Fussell

Hello,

We're considering an ARM based MCU as an alternative target to an existing 8051 based product, which leads me to ask some questions regarding the
ARM architecture-

My understanding is that the ARM core has a 32 bit instruction set (typically), so asssuming a direct port of our existing 8051 code (8 bit instruction set) was possible, what would the expected size of program code be for the ARM target relative to that of the 8051 (bigger/smaller/indeterminate)?

Assuming it's possible for ARM based devices to fetch instructions from external flash (?), are there specific features that should be considered mandatory if the ARM device doesn't feature sufficient 'on-board' flash for program code/NVRAM (AMBA bus/SPI etc)?

Also if there's a resource that someone's aware of which deals with this level of detail, I'd appreciate a link, and any other comments/caveats regarding the ARM core...

Many thanks

David

Parents
  • 0 in reply to David Fussell

    David;
    I second Andy's suggestion about contacting your local rep. In my area, AVNET and NXP are co-sponsoring an all day siminar for $99.00 and they give you a LPC2148 eval board.
    I started with the Keil MCBR7 which has the StMicro STR710FZ2 ARM chip. From Keil it's less than $200.00US.
    All I/O pins are available off board and interfacing an external RAM or Flash was very simple. It is a limited I/O bus of 16 bits but the I/O controls lines support byte, half word and full word transfers. The address lines support 24 bit addressing.
    http://www.keil.com/boards/arm.asp give a fair comparison of boards directly supported by Keil.
    Using an eval board for direct 'hands on' is the fastest way to develope a good feel for ARM without fighting Target board problems.
    If you need additional info on memory interface to the STR710, send an email address and I can forward some simple PDF interconnect diagrams.
    Also, get a ULink or some other supported JTAG interface adapter.
    Bradford

Reply
  • 0 in reply to David Fussell

    David;
    I second Andy's suggestion about contacting your local rep. In my area, AVNET and NXP are co-sponsoring an all day siminar for $99.00 and they give you a LPC2148 eval board.
    I started with the Keil MCBR7 which has the StMicro STR710FZ2 ARM chip. From Keil it's less than $200.00US.
    All I/O pins are available off board and interfacing an external RAM or Flash was very simple. It is a limited I/O bus of 16 bits but the I/O controls lines support byte, half word and full word transfers. The address lines support 24 bit addressing.
    http://www.keil.com/boards/arm.asp give a fair comparison of boards directly supported by Keil.
    Using an eval board for direct 'hands on' is the fastest way to develope a good feel for ARM without fighting Target board problems.
    If you need additional info on memory interface to the STR710, send an email address and I can forward some simple PDF interconnect diagrams.
    Also, get a ULink or some other supported JTAG interface adapter.
    Bradford

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