A friend of mine is trying to learn about simple CPU architecture, and was asking for recommendations for microcontroller development kits. I've done a lot of design on that level, but it's been years. I assume there are some cool new toys now.
Here's what I thought was appropriate:
Inexpensive microcontroller/microprocessor board with flash ram and some ports with LED's etc. Maybe AD/DA if that's available.
'Clean' CPU architecture so he can get a good understanding of how the CPU core works, even if it means sacrificing some computing power.
Upload/download links to Windows PC, pref via USB.
Inexpensive or free development tools, including assembler and C (he does know C already, but wants to understand asm)
It would be -great- if there was some kind of provision for single-stepping and viewing registers on the PC screen, though that may be getting optimistic.
Last but probably not least: Some 'community' support via user groups or forums.
The guy is pretty bright, and should be able to pick up assembler quickly. As mentioned, he knows C already. I could see him cooking up project ideas that require more hardware, so it would be nice if there was also a forward path to add-ons via simple bus or whatever.
Any ideas?