Hi Thomas,
PICALLW by Bojan Dobaj can program all the PIC models that you have mentioned.

	http://www.picallw.com

PICALLW is a windows application but click "PICALLW under LINUX" for directives to run it in Linux environment.
Version 0.16 is free since January 2005.
Click content-Hardware for the schematic of a programmer that you can put together yourself.

I can help you if you need help.
Gaston

Thomas Lockney wrote:
> I'm new to the world of PICs (aside from having read about how great
> they are for years, anyway :) and am looking for some advice on the
> best way to get started. I've tried reading the FAQ, but I'm it's not
> exactly clear on some things.
> 
> First, let me state that I run Linux primarily, though I do have
> access to Windows (through VMware -- and, yes, this does give me
> direct access to the serial and parallel ports). My preference is
> towards having options to work in both environments.
> 
> So, that said, I have a handful of PICs (18F458, 16LF84A and 16LF870)
> and I'm trying to figure out the simplest, barebones (if necessary)
> way to get started programming them without having to buy a premade
> programmer. It seems to me that I should be able to throw together
> some components on a breadboard and get started with next to nothing
> from what I've read, but I can't find instructions that directly tell
> me so. I've seen a lot of simple programmers out there, but it seems
> that a number of them require some form of bootstrapping (because they
> use a PIC themselves) or they are for a specific chip that isn't one
> of those listed above.
> 
> I think a lot of my confusion is likely simply misunderstanding. I'll
> ask a few specific questions and then ask for some general advice:
> 
> 1. Is a programmer designed to work with a 16C84 able to work for the
> 16LF84A or even 16LF870?
> 2. Is this (http://www.jdm.homepage.dk/easypic.htm) just too good to be true?
> 3. Will the JDM design (http://www.jdm.homepage.dk/newpics.htm) work
> for any of the above PICs? Based on the one SparkFun sells it looks
> like I should be able to use it with all my chips.
> 4. What programmer software is recommended for Linux?
> 5. Does anyone know of a PIC C environment that works with the Eclipse IDE?
> 6. What books do people recommend that are still pretty current (the
> ones I've browsed at the bookstore often seem to be pretty old)?
> 
> I hope I haven't gotten too long winded, but I'm really excited to get
> started and I'm just trying to sort everything out in my head.

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