OK, the subject isn't quite accurate. I've been hacking around with Parallax Javelin processors and Basic stamps for a few years, and I used a pair of Javelins to automate a home theater. The problem is the implemtation was 1) a hack and 2) not entirely stable. Unstable home theaters are annoying.
So I'd like to do it over, but I've got large areas of ignorance and concerns, and I'm looking for guidance.
First off, what's a good processor?
I need a lot of I/O. I need an interface to 10/100mb ethernet, able to handle TCP or at least UDP; I need at least 1 and ideally 4 buffered RS-232 ports, and I have about 32 logic inputs (which I've multiplexed down, because I don't need to see them all simultaneously or at incredibly high speeds) and about 20 outputs. Some of the outputs are candidates for being controlled in interrupts routines at a fairly high rate (~500/sec); I'm doing 4 channels of PWM to drive 4 dimmer channels, and would rather have more. I'd also like to do a few channels of tone generation, which right now I"m doing with 555's and would rather have in the processor. (So maybe I need an interrupt rate more like 2000/sec, to get a decent range of possible tones.)
I don't need a lot of speed, but I'd like to run faster than the embedded Java I'm uising now. I don't think I need a lot of memory, either. I don't need floating point, but I'd kind of like 32 bit integers.
I need something sturdy. The Javelin processor can sink and source a few mA on each pin; by all accounts if you try that with a more typical PIC, smoke comes out. I'm comfortable with using optoisolators to keep my 12v input signals from cooking processors, but I worry about output pins providing enough power to trigger devices. If I want to drive a darlington pair on and off, how do I know how big a resistor to put between the output pin and the input of the darlington?
I'd like to code in C++ or C, but I can learn assemblers. Coding is not a problem for me; blowing up hardware occasionally is. Because I like coding and coding is what I do, I want to do as much as possible in software and have as few external components as possible. (Parts can burn out, come loose or change tolerances; but working code is a thing of beauty forever.)
Etching circuit boards isn't an option, so I need to build on a breadboard.
I have a 5v/12v power supply that I'd like to use. It all has to run SILENTLY; I can't use a fan.
It has to run for years in a trouble free fashion; it will be a permanent part of my house.
Oh, yeah - cheap hardware and free tools would be a big help. I went with the parallax javelin because they cost $89, and if you blow one up, you slap yourself hard and buy another one. I don't want to do that with $250 hardware, which I'm locked into using because of a $750 tool set.
I suspect I'm asking for the world here... are there any good candidates for this kind of thing? And what books should I be reading?
Thanks.