Steve Baldwin wrote:

> > On these points, what do other people think?

Microchip's pseudo-ops (documented in the MPASM.HLP file, appendix D) are huge
time savers for me. When writing a large PIC application, it is a lot quicker
to type:
    skpz
than it is to type:
    btfss    STATUS,Z

IMO, the source code becomes more readable when some pseudo opcodes are used. I
usually limit my use of these 'extra' instructions only when they expand to a
single opcode. Timing calculation errors are easily avoided following this
simple rule.

I use Multiedit for writing PIC code. This source code editor is by far the
best in its class. When configured properly, Multiedit provides syntax
highlighting, configurable macro keys, a compiler program interface, automatic
compiler error file parsing, fantastic search and replace functions... I could
go on and on about how great this editor is. It's not cheap though - version 8
cost me $129USD for the electronic download!

Back to the topic: I have setup Multiedit to display all standard PIC opcodes
in bold, compiler directives are displayed in bold text of a different color,
and pseudo-opcodes are bold and in a third color. Provides immediate
verification of proper spelling, and I can instantly locate which instuctions
are not the 'standard' ones.

If anyone has (or decides to get) Multiedit and needs the configuration info
for PIC use, I would be happy to share. Oh yeah, I am not affiliated with
American Cybernetics, just a satisfied user of their product. Check it out,
there is a demo you can download at:
http://www.multiedit.com/

Dave Sorlien