clock cycles per instruction and low-cost micros
Thank you, I should have checked before posting. At least I got the 1 and 4 right...
I mentioned clock cycles since it often gets overlooked, it's one factor to consider when processing speed is important. For raw speed, straight hardware (TTL, FPGA, CPLD) wins hands down. DSPs are the next tier down, then micros. Clocks per instruction don't tell the whole story, maximum clock speed, architecture (RISC/CISC/MISC) and other things factor in as well.
Choosing a micro comes down to what's most important to you; low cost, low power, speed, backward code compatability, code density, ease of use, # of onboard peripherals, etc., no one micro family is best at all of them.
And you're right, Kinjaljp, Atmel has some inexpensive x51 flash-based derivatives. They seem to be the exception, I haven't seen low-cost x51 type micros from many others. Atmel has some innovative stuff, like the AVR, dataflash proms and 4-bit Forth micros, not to mention their x51 line. They should give up on cracking the FPGA market though, Altera & Xilinx have it pretty well locked up.
Not sure why Atmel stock is in the ***, the company makes some really good products.