Embedded Systems: Program Counter in Robotics

What is the purpose of the SP (Stack Pointer) register?

To access the stack in RAM

In the context of a CPU, what operation is performed when a register's content is stored in the stack?

PUSH operation

What happens when an endless loop occurs in a computer program?

The program freezes and becomes unresponsive

What type of applications typically idle through an Infinite Loop?

Embedded systems Signup and view all the answers

What can cause an older operating system to become unresponsive?

Infinite loop consuming all available processor time Signup and view all the answers

How is a register retrieved from the stack?

POP operation Signup and view all the answers

What does the Program Counter in embedded systems contain?

The address of the next instruction to be executed Signup and view all the answers

What happens to the Program Counter during branch and jump operations?

It is loaded with an address other than the next sequential location Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of the reset vector in embedded systems?

Points the processor to the memory address with the firmware's first instruction Signup and view all the answers

What happens if developers do not program the reset vector in the final image?

The processor will not start up on the final product Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of activating a power-on reset in embedded systems?

Resetting all values in the Program Counter Signup and view all the answers

Where does the CPU expect to find the first instruction upon reset?

$0000 in ROM memory location Signup and view all the answers

What instructs the program that an event has occurred?

Interrupts Signup and view all the answers

Which type of machine stores the most significant byte of data in the lowest memory address?

Big-Endian Signup and view all the answers

What is the consequence of spending too much time servicing an interrupt?

Miss another interrupt Signup and view all the answers

How do Little-Endian machines store data in memory?

Least significant byte in the lowest memory address Signup and view all the answers

What type of mechanism are interrupts considered to be?

Hardware Signup and view all the answers

In which situation may a processor come out of a sleep mode?

Upon a timer or an External Interrupt Signup and view all the answers