> 
> In general, I think asm is necessary for smaller MCUs like PIC.
However it
> is quite okay to do projects with pure C even for PICs. Inline
assmebly or
> assembly routines can be used for some critical routines (for example,
> some C libraries are written in assmebly).
> 
> For hobbyists, I think it is even more possible to use a big MCU and
then
> use C for projects. But it is just one's choice to use C or asm.
> 
> Regards,
> Xiaofan
>

Honestly, I think even on a small MCU it's possible to use C. However
for the more time-critical portions it would be wise to revert back to
assembler when needed. Space wise, I would think that if you are really
going to start filling up that several k of flash using assembler would
prove to be a big headache anyway.

>> David VanHorn wrote:
>>
>> Part of it I'm sure, is how I was brought up, but I think the
exposure 
>> to the machine's internals is very important.  "Buy a bigger chip" 
>> isn't always an option, and sometimes you really need all the 
>> performance you can get, and a compiler isn't going to do your 
>> thinking for you here.. You have to know what's the fastest way to
get 
>> something done on THIS machine.
>>

How does C not expose you to the machine's internals? If your referring
to the library functions, well there are libraries for assembler as
well. If you meant the MCU core, then its slightly true, however if you
really need the performance you'll know about the innards about the MCU
core anyway.

Perhaps speed might be the worrying point but your code probably spends
majority of its time in a few functions which you can pick and optimise
in assembler.

In any case nowadays the costs of getting a slightly bigger MCU is
minimal since the newer MCUs all have quite a bit of flash.



------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daniel Chia

"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent
perspiration."

     - Thomas Edison

E-mail: danielcjh@yahoo.com.sg
MSN: danstryder01@yahoo.com.sg
ICQ: 37878331
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