hwy guys.... just wanted some info... What we do here is program MCU/MPU right...
Micro Controller/Processor Unit
Where can i get info on CPUs? Like are there CPUs you can program? I know that CPUs dont have memory on board and stuff like that. I just want more info on it.
How do i go about looking something like this up?
Well, you need to specify what you WANT to do. In most project applications, having the program and RAM on-board is a GREAT thing and saves literally months or YEARS of development time.
All the PICs are microcontrollers with on-board RAM and ROM. In fact, they cannot run programs from external RAM or ROM even if you have it, not without interpreted code.
There are "single board computers" (Google it) if you need to run Linux or whatever, or need a monitor. It's a very minimal version of a traditional PC motherboard and processor. Takes much more power and they cost like 50x-100x more than a PIC. They're not uncommon in the world. The checkout terminal at the supermarket might have an SBC in it.
Going between a PIC and an SBC- working with a processor and RAM bus, maybe hard drive or video bus, designing the board, writing the custom software- it's potentially a huge undertaking and may be totally unnecessary.
Also like the board from a Palm Pilot or Windows CE machine is essentially an SBC. There are often hacking pages on how to make them do "new" things. These may be a cheap and highly capable option, but it depends on your job. Could you look up the processor chip it uses and try to design your own board? Sure, but why? It could take a year of skilled development and you may have trouble even obtaining the chip.