Computer Hardware Terms, Glossary and Dictionary

In general, a counter is a device which counts (and may display) the number of times a particular event or process has occurred often in relationship to a clock. In practice, there are two types of counters:*up counters which increase (increment) in value*down counters which decrease (decrement) in value. A timer is a specialized type of clock, that can be used to control the sequence of an event or process. Timers can be mechanical, electromechanical, digital, or even software, since most computers have clocks.

A Counter/Timer is a device that performs both functions: counts external events (counter mode) and processor cycles (timer mode). Virtually every microcontroller has one or more on-board counter/timers.

Related Terms

counter/timer