Hi,

I'm very new to microcontrollers and need some advice about how to get started. To give you some background, I have a bachelor's degree in Comp Sci and some experience in programming Basic Stamp microcontrollers.

My question about how to get started with 8051 microcontrollers is simple; I would like to learn what I parts I need and tools in order to program a microcontroller in C.

If you guys could recommend the best (and worth the money) products for the items below, that would be great. I am willing to spend a bit of money (couple hundred) on parts/books, but nothing to break the bank.

1. Books/Instructions: something comprehensive to step me through with a focus on the electronics needed.

2. Electronic parts: This I am still unsure about even after trying to read through several resources online. Can someone tell me EXACTLY what parts are needed to make a basic working unit? I'd like to use one of the DS 320 derivatives perhaps, and as far as I can tell, I need the chip itself, an oscillator clock, and an external EPROM. I have no idea how to connect the serial port to the chip for programming.
I don't want to use an evaluation board as I think just soldering everything myself I'll learn a lot more.

3. Compilers - Which is the best C compiler worth its money? I can't afford anything like Keil and I've read that SDCC is buggy.

Thanks in advance for the advice, I hope that this message thread can serve others too for quickly starting.

Dave