To begin with, the ability to achieve a level of hands-on
experience with microprocessor design from the
system design level would be useful. However, with a
general purpose microprocessor like the 8086 or 8088,
this can be a full semester project in and of itself.
Thus, it is currently impractical to have the students
do system design work in the lab. However, due to
the availability of the 8051 family of microcontrollers,
coupled with the fact that the current text discusses
the 8051 family, the possibility of a short (perhaps 2-3
week) system design project using a member of the
8051 family is being considered. If adopted, this
project would in all likelihood come as a final lab
project near the end of the semester. The proposed
migration of microprocessor coverage is shown is
Figure 2.