ICSP is actually widely used, and of course ICD (In Circuit Debugging) is
pretty welll universal these days when developing PIC software. 

The Tag-Connect website is at www.Tag-Connect.com and has more explanation
and photographs of the Tag-Connect programming and debugging cable. 

Often times in production one version of firmware is used for testing (which
can if deired be purchased pre-programmed into the MCU) and right at the end
of testing the latest firmware is flashed. The main reason for doing it that
way is it saves changing all the various Manufacturing and Test Proceedures
every time a new vesrion of the firmware is released (which as many of you
know can be a big deal).

ICSP is also a very useful means for downloading configuration and
calibration data and serial numbers into a board.

Putting the Tag-Connect footprint on a board and buying an off the shelf
cable sure beats having to order parts to make yet another custom
programming cable or fixture and also saves the significant cost and
overhead of having to stock and put a connector on every PCB, plus the
footprint is really tiny, especially for the "legless" version. 

Before Tag-Connect we were using 1.25mm Molex connectors that cost over
$0.50 each even in reasonable volumes and required a $600 crimp tool just to
make the cables! Now we simply put a tiny footprint on the PCB right next to
the MCU which takes about the same space of a couple of 0805 resistors! The
legged version of Tag-Connect is great for the debugging ICD connection
required during development but it needs a little bit more board space (but
far less than a modular jack or even the 1.23mm molex) and the legless cable
works fine with the legged footprint for production programming.

Microchip's ICD3 only takes about 1 second to program a PIC24J10 so using
Tag-Connect is a very fast and efficient way to program up a bunch of
boards. We simply hold the Tag-Connect cable to the board (it has three
locating pins that ensure it goes in the right place and it can't be
inserted the wrong way around) and then press "program" and 1 second later
its done! 



Marcel Duchamp wrote:
> 
> Xiaofan Chen wrote:
>> 
>> I agree with you that ICSP has its place and indeed in my current
>> company (typically low quantity), many firmwares are loaded
>> in testing stage through the tester.
>> 
> 
> Of course, this is not a case of having to choose only one or the other; 
> both  can be used.  Preprogrammed chips can be assembled onto a board 
> that also has ICSP provision.  Then the ICSP can be used if needed later.
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> 

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