In-system flash programming or use as EEPROM

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In-system flash programming or use as EEPROM [Copy link]

The MSP430 has the ability to program any single bit, byte, or word anywhere in the flash memory, in-system. The flash memory can be programmed in-system even when code is being executed from the flash memory, and even when the program is executing code from a programmed data segment. The data segment does not have to be erased before programming, but 1s can only be converted to 0s through programming. The erase operation is performed on a complete data segment, and all bits in the data segment are erased to 1s. In-system flash programming or erasing can be performed while code is being executed from the flash memory, and during the operation the program counter will automatically stop for the duration specified in the device datasheet. Alternatively, the program counter can be moved to RAM and the application can be executed while the flash memory is being programmed or erased in-system. In this case, code will continue to execute at full speed from RAM. Both the information memory and main memory flash areas can be used to store data or code, or both. The only difference is that the information memory consists of smaller data segments of 128 bytes, while the main memory consists of 512-byte segments. Although the device datasheet specifies a minimum value that limits Vcc, higher voltages are not required to program the flash. For more information on MSP430 flash, see the flash section in the user's guide, application reports on the web, and the datasheet for the specific device.