Re: Learning PIC on the job

On Tue, Aug 16, 2005 at 08:33:48AM +0800, Chen Xiao Fan wrote:
> It is better to buy a programmer which is more reliable.
> You are a pro now so maybe you will have no problem
> with a JDM/Tait or bootloader. Actually bootloader should
> be the last resort. New comers do not quite understand
> how a bootloader work. They will be frustrated when they
> fried some PICs before they can blink a LED.

As you know I disagree. I think it's wrong to peg newbies as dumb or stupid
simply because they have a lack of knowledge on a subject. Simply explaing to
them in clear language what to do and most of them get it. 

For example traditional programming vs. bootloaders. Simple analogy:  Imagine
if every time you wanted to install a new program on your computer you had to
open the case, remove the hard disk, put the hard disk in a special machine
to load the software, then reverse the process. Further imagine that you had
to do this each and every time you wanted to change the software on your
computer. This is analogous to the traditional programming process for
a microcontroller.

A bootloader works like a BIOS. It's a program that's in your computer that
can load other programs. Now PIC chips come to you completely blank. So 
you use the traditional programmer to put the bootloader onto the chip. 
From then on the chip can load programs for itself.

Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. Traditional programmers
work with blank chips. Traditional programmers also use no resources on
the chip such as memory or I/O pins. Bootloaders can give you a lot of
flexibility. There are bootloaders that wiggle the MCLR pin in a special
way to program the chip for example. However by definition they must occupy
some memory space in order to operate. Also you have the chicken and egg
problem of getting the bootloader onto the chip in the first place.

But at the end of the day bootloaders mimic the software installation
processes of the computers we use every day. And frankly mirroring
a known process is simpler for a new user than an unfamiliar one.

BTW why do you think that a newbie is any more likely to fry a raw PIC as
opposed to a bootloaded one? The fact of the matter is that lots and lots of
newbies got started using the Basic Stamp, which had a serial EEPROM
bootloader coupled with a simple HLL interpreter.

> 
> I will recommend Wisp 628 and PICkit 1 now for beginners. 

So you have to get two programmers? Or is it one or the other?


> Later I will recommend PIckit 2 after we get it to work with 
> Linux.

And so a newbie will have to plunk down $50 just to get started?
And for this you get 1 part (16F690), a pot, some LEDs and
a programmer? Seems pricey to me to pay for convenience. Then on
top of that any Linux person will have to wait until Mchip gets around
to releasing the protocol to talk to the programmer.

Hmmm.

BAJ