Communications base microcontroller

A communications base microcontroller particularly adapted for use with a multiplexing character processor of the type that multiplexes data characters to and from a plurality of communication lines to a central processing unit. The communications base microcontroller is operable with communication lines carrying various protocols and data rates. A scan list and direction control stores the order in which the communication lines are to be scanned and the direction of the next data flow. An instruction execution unit in response to the scanning order set by the scan list fetches instruction words during a machine cycle preceding an execution cycle and provides operands and instructions each associated with the particular communication line being scanned. A program control device, in response to multiplexing rate (scan rate) established by the scan list stores the present instruction, the input protocol and other functions and selects a pointer to the next program instruction. The microcontroller thus permits the software associated with a particular protocol attached to a particular communication line to be run in a time sliced fashion in conjunction with the time slicing of data from the peripheral devices such that all peripheral devices are serviced without a contention process.