You might get good use out of the beginners checklist at
http://www.piclist.com/begin

I've reproduced it here in text (with a lot of the links missing) in the
hopes of generating some more feedback and suggestions.

Old timers - please note that some of these items fall more into the "good
habit to be in" rather than the "absolute must for a PIC" category.

Beginners checklist for PICs

1. Subscribe to the PICList http://www.piclist.com. Don't post, just read
until step 6.

2. Select a chip and buy one. The simplest chip to program, find code for,
learn on is the 16F84, the most bang for the buck is the 16F877 and it is
mostly code compatible with the 'F84

3. Static - don't touch the pins without grounding yourself.

4. Find a programmer that supports your chip.
   - NOPPP is the simplest for the F84 with software for most OSs,
   - Tony Nixons free ROMZap bootloader [Ed: It Rocks!] can program the boot
code with a "less than $5"  circuit and the rapid load your code into the
chip after that. Or you can program an '877 with a stripped down Tait
(basically a cable) under Linux.
   - The $99 WARP-13 supports the largest number of devices and is MPLAB
compatible.

5. DO NOT ENABLE CODE PROTECTION! No, it can't be undone. You will have to
replace the chip. Read the documentation on your programmer to figure out
how to avoid this.

6. Goto http://www.microchip.com find, download and read the datasheet for
your chip from cover to cover. Read  Jim's introduction to the PIC, the PIC
FAQ and ask questions on the PICList if you don't understand something. If
your brain is completely fried at this point, don't worry, lots of top-notch
engineers have been also. Try a good book or a university course if you can
find one.

7. Select a development language. Most people use MPLAB (free) but there are
lots of alternatives.

8. Start with very simple code like a LED coming on when a switch is
pressed, and build from this once it is working.

9. Tie the switch pin Hi or Lo with a ~10K resistor or use internal pullups
to avoid floating inputs when the switch is open.

10. Do something with unused pins don't just leave them floating

11. TRIS - make sure they are set properly for in/out pins.

12. Debounce the switches to avoid false switch states.

13. RA4 on a 16F84 is "open collector" - it can pull to ground but will not
pull up to Vcc. You can still use it to drive LEDs by hanging the LED &
resistor between RA4 and +5V supply. (anode to +5V) This means that the
logic is now inverted; 1 = off and 0 = on

14. Disable WDT if not needed

15. Make sure Osc fuses are set for your type of oscillator, crystal, RC etc

16. Sample code for most common applications (including serial io, LCD
interfacing, keyboards, the internet, etc...) are available at the PICList
FAQ http://www.piclist.com/faq


See also:

http://websites.ntl.com/~matthew.rowe/micros/dosgear.htm A nice startup page
with a (frighteningly) simple programmer, DOS software and a sample program

http://www.picnpoke.com A really nice collection of tutorial software
($18USD) and hardware ($66USD including software). Recommended.



---
James Newton (PICList Admin #3)
mailto:jamesnewton@piclist.com 1-619-652-0593
PIC/PICList FAQ: http://www.piclist.com or .org

-----Original Message-----
From: pic microcontroller discussion list
[mailto:PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU]On Behalf Of Milan Pavlica (YU7AEC)
Sent: Friday, March 31, 2000 04:19
To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Subject: Tutorial


Hi!
Where i can find PIC tutorial for ABSOLUTE bigginer in micrcontroller
world??
THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
p.s. I allready have Microchip Stuffs...