The Intel 8051 is an 8bit microcontroller which means that most available operations are limited to 8 bits. There are 3 basic"sizes" of the 8051: Short, Standard, and Extended. The Shortand Standard chips are often available in DIP (dual inline package) form, but the Extended 8051 models often have a different form factor, and are not "dropin compatible".
All these things are called 8051 because they can all be programmed using 8051 assembly language, and they all share certain features(although the different models all have their own special features). The success of the Intel 8051 spawned a number of clones which are collectively referred to as the MCS51 family of microcontrollers, which includes chips from vendors such as
Atmel, Philips, Infineon, and Texas Instruments.8051 block diagram
All these things are called 8051 because they can all be programmed using 8051 assembly language, and they all share certain features(although the different models all have their own special features). The success of the Intel 8051 spawned a number of clones which are collectively referred to as the MCS51 family of microcontrollers, which includes chips from vendors such as
Atmel, Philips, Infineon, and Texas Instruments.8051 block diagram
