>You produced a microcontroller with a very small instruction set so
>that programmers would quickly become familiar with the device. Why

They didn't produce it originally.  Before MCHP came along, GI (the cable
converter people) made them.

There's a basic paradigm in the world that, if you want something cheap, it
must be simple to make.  It doesn't get much simpler than a '5x chip, for
sure!

If I'm designing something for the mass market (100K per year or so),
engineering costs really don't matter very much, but parts costs is very
important.  If I'm making something that will be produced in very small
quantities, parts costs doesn't matter as much, but engineering costs do.

Most low- or mid-range PICs are ideal for very high volume production.  The
programmer must do the USART, PWM, etc. in software.  This takes time
(dollars) up front, but in the long run is very cost effective.  OTOH, the
'6x/7x parts have lots of peripherals which make the programmer's job
easier, but cost $$$ in production.

Get the idea?  It takes a tougher software development system to make cheap
micros easy to deal with.

As a non-user of MPLAB for the most part, I really can't say much about my
experiences with it.  I've never had any trouble trying to accomplish what
I want it to do (sometimes the thing doesn't do it the way I would expect,
so I have to try different methods).  Maybe I think differently.  I would
LOVE to change icons so they have a word on them rather than a picture -
figuring out pictures is sure a pain sometime (that's why we have balloon
help, I guess).

Andy

==================================================================
Andy Kunz - Montana Design - 409 S 6th St - Phillipsburg, NJ 08865
          Hardware & Software for Industry & R/C Hobbies
        "Go fast, turn right, and keep the wet side down!"
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