Many applications are now best implemented as heterogeneous systems, made up from hardware and software, digital and analogue. Standard-part manufacturers have recognised this with the introduction of large families of microcontrollers, specifically aimed at embedded control applications. Despite the diversity of devices available they can never provide all options nor can they provide the customisation possibilities and security of an ASIC implementation. The author has developed an application-specific design notation, ASIC-BASIC, that addresses this area, permitting application experts to create their own, customised microcontrollers.
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