On Mon, 23 Apr 2001, Michael Pont wrote:

> I don't want to spark a religious debate, but I can't let this pass...

I'm not trying to start a holy war either, really I'm not.  I was just
offering my own input, YMMV.

> I have done a fair amount of work with the 8051 family and (I freely
> confess) nothing much with the PIC yet.
> That being said:
>
> There are more than 300 different 8051s out there, from 20 pins to 100
> pins+.  Many have flash memory.  99% have UARTs.  Running on batteries isn't
> a problem, and neither is driving LEDs.  CAN, ADC, DAC, PWM, etc, are all
> (of course) available.

No argument there, there is a dizzying array of different types of 8051
derivatives available from numerous sources.  I'm sure there is a
perfectly suitable 8051 derivtive from somewhere for almost any task.
However, only a few are readily available from the suppliers I use
(Digi-Key, JDR, Jameco, Mouser, etc).  I can almost scoop PICs up off the
street on my way to work, they're easier to find than coffee.

> Big advantage (as far as I can see) is the *ALL* of the 8051s have the same
> core architecture and - crucial for me - can be prigrammed with the same C
> compiler (from Keil in my case).  This does not seem to be the case for the
> PIC familiy, for which I seem to need around three different compilers?

Not really. If you want to encompass ALL of the different PIC families
you'll need one for the 12/14 bit cores, and one for the 16 bit cores. But
really, that's like saying you'd need separate compilers for the 8048 and
the 8051 (or 8051 and 80196, whatever).  They come from the same
manufacturer and have some definite similarities, but are different
animals.  I can buy one compiler that will handle all 12xxx, 14000, 16xxx
and 17xxx parts if I need to -- though I didn't; I only need to use the
midrange parts.  I don't know what 8051 compiler prices are like, but the
last time I looked they were substantially higher than what I paid, which
is a big factor for those of us who don't do this full-time.

I liked the '51 a lot, still do.  But I'll still stand by my orignal
statment:

> > Yes, I know there are far better 8052 variations available now, but not at
> > PIC prices, and not from the places I buy from.  All in all, I'm happy
> > with PICs and have not had any recent instances of wishing I were still
> > writing code for Intel processors.

Dale
---
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new
discoveries, is not "Eureka!" (I found it!) but "That's funny ..."
                -- Isaac Asimov

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