Check out these sites for info and application notes..
http://www.questlink.com/page.htm
http://www.microchip.com/

The 16C84 or 16F84 is flash/e2 but does not give the functionality of the
bigger chips or the amount of rom and ram. You can do some devoplement on
the flash chips then move it to the bigger ones for the application. For io,
rom, ram and built in functions look at the 16C72 to 77 series chips. They
are eprom though.

Hope this helps.


>Hi...
>
>I just subscribed to the list minutes ago.  I'm into
>robotics and electronics and have tinkered a little
>with the Z80 microprocessor and studied the 68HC11
>(never used it, though).  It's time for me to learn
>something about PICs, as I have some projects that
>ought to be perfect for them.
>
>I'd love to get an overview of the different families
>so I can choose a direction to get started in.  I've
>been seeing the 16C84 mentioned quite a bit as a great
>way to get started.
>
>I want plenty of I/O, memory, and I think using EEPROM
>or flash would be least annoying to do development on.
>Is the 16C84 right for me, or are there others (more
>memory, perhaps) that would be better suited to my wants?
>
>I've glanced at the PIC FAQ and realize that there is
>just too much info out there for me to sift through,
>which is why I'm here asking for advice.
>
>I'd love to get enough info that I can make my first
>purchase of programmer and chips this coming Saturday.
>
>Thanks in advance for any info!  :)
>
>-Chris
>chrisp@fullsw.com
>
>