Archive/Archiver
An archive/library is a collection of relocatable object modules. It is created by assembling multiple source files to
object files, and then using the archiver/librarian to combine the object files into one archive/library file. An archive/
library can be linked with object modules and other archives/libraries to create executable code.
ASCII
The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a character set encoding that uses 7 binary digits to
represent each character. It includes upper and lower case letters, digits, symbols and control characters.
Assembly/Assembler
Assembly is a programming language that describes binary machine code in a symbolic form. An assembler is a
language tool that translates assembly language source code into machine code.
Assigned Section
A GCC compiler section which has been assigned to a target memory block in the linker command file.
Asynchronously
Multiple events that do not occur at the same time. This is generally used to refer to interrupts that may occur at any
time during processor execution.
Asynchronous Stimulus
Data generated to simulate external inputs to a simulator device.
Attribute
GCC Characteristics of variables or functions in a C language program, which are used to describe machine-specific
properties.
Attribute, Section
GCC Characteristics of sections, such as “executable”, “read-only”, or “data” that can be specified as flags in the
assembler
.section
directive.
Binary
The base two numbering system that uses the digits 0-1. The rightmost digit counts ones, the next counts multiples of
2, then 2
2
= 4, etc.
Bookmarks
Use bookmarks to easily locate specific lines in a file.
Select Toggle Bookmarks on the Editor toolbar to add/remove bookmarks. Click other icons on this toolbar to move to
the next or previous bookmark.
C/C++
C is a general-purpose programming language which features economy of expression, modern control flow and data
structures, as well as a rich set of operators. C++ is the object-oriented version of C.
Calibration Memory
A special function register or registers used to hold values for calibration of a PIC microcontroller on-board RC
oscillator or other device peripherals.
Central Processing Unit
The part of a device that is responsible for fetching the correct instruction for execution, decoding that instruction, and
then executing that instruction. When necessary, it works in conjunction with the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) to
complete the execution of the instruction. It controls the program memory address bus, the data memory address
bus, and accesses to the stack.
Glossary
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2020 Microchip Technology Inc.
User Guide
DS50002751D-page 66
