[51] the IC to program my IC

actually i have a laptop that don't have rs232 port.
can i program my at89s52 using CP2102.
I haven't gone much through its data sheet but it have an EEprom in it.
and i have one of such ic being used to program atmega8 (actually its mounted on the arduino board ) can i use the same ic to program at89s52 ? ar i need to do some changes in its eeprom ?

CP2102 can be used for your need since it's just a USB to serial converter bridge.

What about the EEprom in it ? don't we need to change its content ? if not then why that EEPROM is there ? whats its purpose ?

as the IC you mention is USB to SERIAL then it is necessory to mention some USB id and some information regarding communication. Tag you given for all this EEPROM is required.

OK , do i need to use MAX232 with CP2102 ? as its an usb to s232 converter the output should be first given to MAX232 ? right ?????
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then
the data sheet of CP2102 have these lines
"The UART is programmable to support a variety of data formats and baud rates. If the Virtual COM Port drivers are
used, the data format and baud rate are set during COM portconfiguration on the PC. If the USBXpress drivers are
used, the CP2102/9 is configured through the USBXpress API."
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what exactly is baud rate ? i did a bit googling and learned that its basically rate of data transfer (though in a different form ) ? the baud rate supported by CP2102 as its mounted on the arduino board is 9600.
do i need to change the baud rate ? the crystal on the board is 16 MHz for ATmega8 while I'm using a 20 MHz crystal for AT89S52.
is there any limitation of baud rate being supported by a micro controller ? how to decide the correct baud rate ?

Yes you have to use usb t serial and then max232 and then to controller.
Baud rateis bit rate per second. buad rate change if frequency changes.

CP2102 is used in USB to serial adapter. You have to use MAX232 to interface RS232 side to TTL side of uC. I don't know whether you can use the same programming software which works with COM port to programm using USB port. USB ports are shown as COM16, etc... (as virtual COM ports). If the programming software has option to use Serial port or USB then select USB option.

but there is no Max232 on the arduino board
and i still didn't got about the baud rate ...
do i need to change it ? or not ?
please explain