Getting XAPped

Not re-inventing the wheel is generally reckoned to be a sound engineering principle. So when Cambridge Consultants Ltd. (CCL) decides to fund its own development of yet another microprocessor, the obvious question is why? CCL´s processor, which rejoices in the snappy name of the XAP (pronounced zap), has evolved in response to the distinctive engineering problems the company was being asked to solve. CCL specialises in the design of electronic systems that are compact, low power, low voltage (battery operation is virtually standard), and with the tightest of manufacturing costs. Many of the products fall under the general umbrella of instrumentation, for example utility meters, implying a requirement to operate with real-world signals and imperfect sensors