method and apparatus for configuring the operation of an integrated circuit . an integrated circuit with external programming capabilities is disclosed . a pin current source is provided for interfacing with at least one pin on the integrated circuit to control current flow there through to an external load interfaced to the at least one pin external to the integrated circuit . the external load has at least two discrete values . a voltage detector detects the voltage on the at least one pin and a state detector then compares the voltage on the at least one pin to at least two discrete voltage thresholds . each of the discrete voltages is associated with a separate value of a control word , and the state detector is operable to determine the value of the control word associated with the detected voltage . the state detector then outputs the determined value of the control word .