The Definitive Guide to the ARM Cortex-M3

CHAPTER 1 Introduction

In This Chapter:

• What Is the ARM Cortex-M3 Processor?

• Background of ARM and ARM Architecture

• Instruction Set Development

• The Thumb-2 Instruction Set Architecture (ISA)

• Cortex-M3 Processor Applications

• Organization of This Book

• Further Readings

What Is the ARM Cortex-M3 Processor?

The microcontroller market is vast, with over 20 billion devices per year estimated to be shipped in 2010. A bewildering array of vendors, devices, and architectures are competing in this market. The requirement for higher-performance microcontrollers has been driven globally by the industry’s changing needs; for example, microcontrollers are required to handle more work without increasing a product’s frequency or power. In addition, ...