Philip Pemberton wrote:
> The Easyprog is, in comparison, huge. And I'd have to order a PCB,
> too (I just etched one for the '628).

I understand your comfort level with the Wisp, and I'm not trying to
convince you away from it, but I do want to make some points for others that
are listening in.

You don't **have** to order a PCB.  The schematic is available for all to
see, so you could lay out and make your own board.  It would cost a lot more
than I sell the board for, so you'd want to do this for the experience.  I
have no objection to someone cooking their own EasyProg for personal use.  I
wouldn't want someone else to sell their version, but I'm not sure there is
anything I could actually do about it.

Another point is that the protocol specification is open.  I tried to define
a generic interface between a host and a programmer.  Both the EasyProg and
ProProg adhere to this interface although they are quite different
architectually.  The same host software drives both, and knows what features
are available.  I am willing to make it more general as programmers with
different capabilities are encountered.

If you want to create your own programmer from scratch, I urge you to give
this protocol some consideration.  Again, I'm willing to make changes and
update my host software accordingly.  For example, the current spec assumes
programmers are capable of variable Vdd.  Fixed Vdd wouldn't be hard to
support, but isn't in there currently.

If we have a common framework for the whole programming tool chain from HEX
file to PIC, then it becomes much easier for someone to create only the
piece they are interested in or think they have something unique to add to.
For example, someone could create a very stripped down specialty programmer
without having to create any host software, or someone else could write a
fancy GUI or specialized serial number support host software without having
to create their own programmers.  You could mix and match between host
software and programming hardware.  I know of at least one person that has
written a specialized GUI for the EasyProg for teaching with a particular
target board.


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