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Introduction: Tutorials, Overviews, Learning - Getting Started with the 8051

Introduction
Getting started with the 8051 via the Internet is fortunately easy. The 8051 has a long, long history in computing and therefore has many of the best tutorials and overviews on it. That said, there is a lot of junk still on the Web - ancient documents and websites that are little more than a junior hobbyist posting his musings onto the blogosphere.

Overviews
In fact, one of the earliest overviews to the 8051 was last updated in 1997 and is available on the Web here . In it, Russ Hersch presents a nice overview to the state of the art at the time. And since many developers turn to the 8051 precisely because it is well known and has a history, you might find this document useful. It isn't up-to-date, but that's why you're choosing the 8051 over a 32-bit architecture, anyway. Secondly, there's always Wikipedia , that colossus of an encyclopedia. Its coverage of the 8051 is here . Unfortunately, if you look at the "history" tab there, you'll see that this document isn't updated very frequently, and its "external links" as is usually the case with Wikipedia aren't very useful. Finally, one of the better overviews on the Web is in the WORD format, and available here . If you can't read WORD, you can download a free reader, here .

8051 Online Learning & Tutorials
What is the Web, however, if not a cornucopia of online learning and hip videos? Is there any online learning available on the embedded 8051 microcontroller? One of the best megasites is 8052.com . If you are in the market for consulting services, Craig Steiner, the webmaster and author of 8052.com, as well as The 8051/8052 Microcontroller book, is available on a consulting basis to assist you in advancing your embedded project as quickly and efficiently as possible. On the free book front, don't miss Architecture and Programming of 8051 Microcontrollers - Free eBook . It's free and absolutely first rate vs. what you are paying to get it. mikroElektronika is a Serbian company, and provides many great tools, books, and products for the practical embedded engineer. You can also check out Youtube by searching for "8051" or "8051 microcontroller." As usual, it has a ton of hobbyist stuff, most of which is useless. We haven't found any great use of Youtube that goes beyond simple demos.

Another good learning site to check out is Techonline . We recommend going immediately to their search engine, and be sure to check (or uncheck) the various resources that you are looking for. To find webinars or papers, for example, simply check those boxes.

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