> I am still struggling with how to choose PIC's.

The best place to start is the line card.  If it's a high volume product
then a price list also helps, but if it's a one-off or hobby project then
any PIC is cheap enough.

> So I see that the 16F76 and the 16F876 are CODE and PIN compatible.

Just about all 28 pin parts are pin compatible.  Microchip further claims
that everything within a family is "code compatible", but those are
marketing words.  Different parts have different amounts of RAM, different
mix of peripherals, special function registers, etc, but are still "code
compatible".

> I see in the line card that the 16F76 has other feature: Self-read
> whereas the 16F876 has Self-programming.
>
> Can anyone tell me why they make the two parts if they're almost
> identical?

I'm guessing the 16F76 is a little cheaper, but I haven't looked it up.

> Failing that can anyone explain the chip numbering system?

It has something to do with a dead fish, the full moon, and a chicken.


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