Found 387 Articles for Hardware

AVR libraries are developed by Atmel. You might be knowing that the microcontrollers used in most Arduino boards are Atmel microcontrollers (ATmega328P, ATmega2560, etc.). AVR libraries for several specific operations (sleep, time, etc.) already exist, and therefore, we may greatly benefit if we are able to import AVR libraries within Arduino. The good news is that we can!As per Arduino's website, "AVR libraries have the potential to greatly extend the Arduino language. The Arduino system is based on the avr-gcc compiler and makes use of the standard AVR libc libraries, which are open-source C libraries, specifically written for Atmel hardware, ... Read More

A watchdog timer is an essential part of any microcontroller. It resets the program if the program gets stuck anywhere. Very briefly, this is how the watchdog timer works −The timer keeps incrementing.The program has to ensure that it keeps resetting the timer, i.e. does not allow it to overflow.If the timer overflows, it means that the program was stuck somewhere and therefore was unable to reset the timer. An interrupt is generated on timer overflow which resets the microcontroller.To implement watchdog timer in Arduino, we use the avr wdt library.The code is given below −#include void setup() {   ... Read More

The tone function can be used to generate a square wave (50% duty cycle) of a specific frequency on a pin.SyntaxThe syntax is −tone(pin, frequency)pin is the pin number on which to generate the tone. The frequency is specified in Hz.This function can also take in a third optional argument − the millisecond duration for which the tone should be generated on the pin.tone(pin, frequency, duration)If you don’t specify the duration, the tone will continue till the noTone() function is called on the same pin. The syntax of the noTone() function is −noTone(pin)where pin is the pin number on which ... Read More

Both microprocessors and microcontrollers are types electronic devices that come in the form of integrated circuits (ICs) and are used in different modern electronic equipment such as computers, laptops, washing machines, air conditioners, and many other automated electronic gadgets. The primary function of both microprocessors and microcontrollers is to automate the processes. Read this article to find out more about microprocessors and microcontrollers and how they are different from each other. What is a Microprocessor? As its name implies, it is a processing device that converts data into information based on some sets of instructions. It is a very ... Read More

In this post, we will understand the difference between SATA and PATA −PATAIt stands for Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment.It is a 40 pin connector.It is expensive.The speed of data transfer is low.It consumes more power.The size of the cable is big.It doesn’t come with hot swapping feature.External hard drives can’t be used with PATA.SATAIt stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment.It is a 7 pin connector.It is cheap.The speed of data transfer is high.It consumes less power.The size of the cable is small.It comes with the hot swapping feature.External hard drives can be used with SATA.Read More

Raster scan and random scan are two of the most popular approaches used to display the pictures and images of objects on the screen. Raster scan is a technique in which a rectangular pattern of the image is captured on screen, whereas random scan is one in which the picture is constructed through an electron beam. Read through this article to find out more about raster scan and random scan and how they are different from each other. What is Rater Scan? In raster scan, the electron beam is swept across the screen, one row at a time from top ... Read More

Both interlaced and progressive scan are types of raster scanning techniques extensively used in analog video systems. The basic difference between interlaced scan and progressive scan is that the interlaced scan employs the scanning of even and odd marked lines of a picture which are displayed consecutively as two isolated fields that are superimposed to show one frame on the screen, while the progressive scan employs a single sweep over the whole picture at a time. In this article, we will discuss the important differences between interlaced and progressive scan. Let's start with some basics of interlaced scan and progressive ... Read More

In this post, we will understand the difference between symmetric and asymmetric multiprocessing −Asymmetric MultiprocessingIn this kind of multiprocessing, the processors are not considered as equal.The task of the operating system is done by the master processor.There is no communication between the processors since they are controlled by the master processor only.In this multiprocessing, process follow the master-slave pattern.The systems are relatively inexpensive.This kind of multiprocessing systems are easier to design.Symmetric MultiprocessingIn this kind of multiprocessing, all the processors are considered equal.The tasks of the operating system are done by individual processors.All the processors communicate with each other since they ... Read More

In this post, we will understand the difference between internal and external fragmentation −Internal FragmentationThe difference between the memory allocated and the space required is known as internal fragmentation.In this fragmentation, fixed-sized memory blocks are used to process data.This process occurs when a method or process is larger than the required memory.The method used in internal fragmentation is ‘best-fit’ block.It occurs when the memory is divided into fixed sized partitions.External FragmentationThe unused spaces that is formed between fragments of non-contiguous memory, which are too small to help with a new process, is known as external fragmentation.It uses variable-sized memory blocks ... Read More

An operating system acts as a bridge between the hardware and applications. The CPU is that part of the system which handles all the tasks of the system. Sometime such situations arise, when it is required to interrupt the currently running task and take a rapid action. Therefore, in operating system, there are two methods namely interrupt and polling for dealing with such events. In both interrupt and polling, the CPU is paused what it is doing and made to execute an essential task. Both interrupt and polling are quite different from each other in several ways. In this article, ... Read More