| ??? 04/11/08 04:51 Read: times |
#153138 - Once again, I think you're missing the point Responding to: ???'s previous message |
Erik Malund said:
Richard Erlacher said:
What do you mean by code hungry and convoluted? Why would it matter whether the ISP application is 2K bytes or 2T bytes in size? It runs on the host machine. The object file being programmed is just that, namely, an object. I referred to the actual uC. Well, it should have no impact on that at all. It would have no effect on either code size or performance. I can see architctures/masks that would make including JTAG programmability a breeze and see some where the added cost would exceed $0.10. Yes, but if the cost is in the adapter module rather than the MCU itself, each customer wishing to apply his own field-fixes only has to buy one such tool. What's more, I never suggested that they have to have full JTAG support. I'm just saying a 4-wire interface like the JTAG would work out. Even a USB-type interconnect without the USB protocol, would be fine. It could use a serial protocol like the PC keyboard, which is essentially what USB does, but it could be WAY faster. $0.10 may not sound like much, but to the customers that make the semiconductor manufacturers stay alive by buying chips in the millions $0.10 is VERY significant. Yes it is, but ... when you're shipping >1E6 units, you generally don't care to provide field fixes, since the bugs are worked out by now. You'd certainly never use it for production programming at >1E6 units per year. My most used (non-uC) chip just got substituted because of a 'nominal' price increase. That's as it should be. A $0.01 price difference would be enough, even if the quantity per year is only 25 pieces... unless the delivery is better elsewhere. I've had to choose between low price per unit and high price for shipment ... and unless it's a wash, it's a decision variable. Erik
PS Richard, I understand that you speak from your perspective and doubt that even $1.00 more for a uC would affect you, but the above is reality. It wouldn't affect me, but it could make me choose a different MCU. Even when I am buying only a handful, if there's a .01% price difference, and no advantage to offset it, I buy the one that's the cheapest from the guy with the best price and a delivery schedule that suits me. If it's the same MCU, with acceptable delivery, etc, then price is everything. If there might be an advantage, e.g. better instruction set, higher performance, a useful integrated peripheral, well ... one's got to do the arithmetic. RE |
