JOSE ANTONIO CHONG LEAL <PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU> wrote:

> Hey im reading this book "easy pic'n" it says that for the begginer
> its better to use the TRIS instruction to configure outputs VS
> inputs, this other guy said to me to forget about TRIS, he told me
> to use bank swtching, that TRIS only complicates things, what about
> you guys, what do you say?????

    Jose:

    On the contrary, the TRIS instruction SIMPLIFIES things.  There
    are a couple of limitations, though:

        1.  The TRIS instruction only works on PORTA, PORTB, and
            PORTC... So if you're using a big PIC with a PORTD and
            PORTE, you'll need to do the bank-switching thing.

        2.  If you want to READ a port's current input/output
            configuration (sometimes necessary if you're switching
            port pins between inputs and outputs), you need to switch
            banks and read the TRISx registers.

    If it were me, I'd just use the TRIS instructions.

> also, what programmer do you guys recommend???, im tempted to buy
> the picstart plus, but how about the parallax one?

    Buy the Picstart Plus.

> what assembler is better? parallax or microchip?

    Microchip's, by far.

    -Andy

=== Andrew Warren - fastfwd@ix.netcom.com
=== Fast Forward Engineering - Vista, California
=== http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/2499