David Duffy wrote:

>>          MOVLW B'01000'
>>          MOVWF PORTA

> Even though port A has only 5 physical bits you must pad it out to 8
> bits.

  If it is specified as above, the assembler pads it out to 8 bits with
zeroes.

  If it only has five bits, specifying a binary value with only five
bits is good for clarity.  What's the problem?
--
  Cheers,
        Paul B.