There is much discussion about what it means to call a device an N-bit processor, but really it’s pretty obvious in most cases. If the device can perform most of its data manipulation instructions on data words to a maximum of N bits in size, the device is an N-bit processor. By way of example, a device may have a full set of instructions that can operate on 8 bit data, along with a few instructions that operate on 16 bit data. That device should be considered an 8-bit design, even if the marketing department says otherwise and calls it a 16-bit chip.
By volume, 8-bit microcontrollers are the biggest segment of the embedded market. Many applications simply don’t need any more power, and never will. 16-bit devices are more powerful, but they are squeezed between the 8-bit devices on the low end and the 32-bit devices on the high end. 32-bit devices are at the high end of the embedded spectrum for all but the most complex or high-performance designs, but they are moving ever downward in price.
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