microcontrollers combine all the necessary elements of a microcomputer system
onto a single piece of hardware. Microcontrollers do not require additional
peripherals or complex operating systems to function, while microprocessors
do. Both circuits contain CPUs, however, microcontrollers also integrate memory,
input/output (I/O) components and other varied peripherals.
Microcontroller is a VLSI IC that contains a CPU (Processor) along with some
other peripherals like Memory (RAM and ROM), I/O Ports, Timers/Counters,
Communication Interface, ADC, etc.
On the contrary, a Microprocessor (which was developed before Microcontroller)
is just a Processor (CPU) and doesn’t have the above mentioned peripherals. In
order to make it work or build a system around it, we need to interface the
peripherals separately.
