October 30, 2008 -- The companies and devices in the 35th annual EDN microprocessor/ microcontroller directory continue to evolve and grow in number. The company roster and product listings are testaments to the variety of processors available and the tremendous variation among requirements, features, and types of applications for which designers are using microprocessors and microcontrollers.

The print version of this directory is but a small fraction of the entire directory, which stresses what is new over the last year for each company. Visiting the Web version has taken on more importance as the company roster continues to expand the material of hundreds of pages well beyond the capacity of the print update. The print version lists the companies selling software-programmable processors and cores and provides an overview for each as well as identifies the latest developments over the previous year at each company.

This year’s online version makes it easier to find the third-party-software-development companies by placing them in a companion directory that is cross-linked on the main pages of each listing. This directory aims to provide designers and system architects enough visibility into processor options to quickly narrow the list of candidate processors for each project. The expanded online section presents each processor, with detailed information and block diagrams. The directory uses a common taxonomy for describing and categorizing target applications that helps you to quickly find and compare competing processors for your projects. The Web material has more details on the common application taxonomy so that you can comment on it, and we can refine it as appropriate.

By Robert Cravotta, EDN Technical Editor