Barry Gershenfeld wrote:
> It is my fate to become involved with the PIC32 line.  Mostly because
> that's where the USB host functions are, and USB is some sort of
> unstoppable curse upon the land.

You need to get over the attitude problem if you want to get anywhere and if
you want others to take you seriously instead of dismissing you as a time
wasting whiner.

USB was well thought out and is very useful.  You're apparently not old
enough to remember the days of the serial port.  The baud rate, parity, and
port number all had to be right, and all too often this was pushed onto the
unsophisticated user that didn't know how to spell SIO.  Then devices had to
be separtely powered, and the practical upper limit on speed was under
12Kbytes/sec.  There were also different connector types to chose from, and
there wasn't even agreement on which end should be M or F.

The serial port is still great for getting simple communication between a PC
and a microcontroller working, but that's only for those of us comfortable
with computer electronics, software, and microcontrollers.  Even then, I
nowadays grab a ReadyBoard-02 for one off projects that need to talk to a
PC.  Since the software/firmware chain via USB is all set up already, it's
no harder than doing the same with serial but there are less logistic
hassles.  I don't have to worry about whether I've used up both serial ports
on my machine and most of the time the device doesn't need separate power.

> I ordered the PIC32 starter kit,
> and the USB starter kit, and now I must somehow rise to the
> competency level I have with my PIC16 and PIC18 parts.  This isn't
> really the right time to sit down with a cup of coffee and the
> PIC32MX Family Data Sheet

On the contrary, this is exactly the right time to read the datasheets.  You
get the most bang for the buck by reading the documentation *before* bumping
around in the dark wondering why nothing works.  Sitting down and reading
the datasheet may not be fun, but trying to debug something without the
proper understanding is a lot less fun and a lot more time consuming.

> Figure out
> how to install the USB connection to these eval boards--this time--
> (do I install the driver first, or do I plug in the device first?

Always install the driver first.  If try to jump ahead for instant
gratification and plug in the device first, the system may decide what
driver the device uses and install that.  It can be difficult to convince
the system later to accept a new driver, particularly if the new one is not
signed.

Read the documentation first, then try things one step at a time.  That way
when things stop working you know what little thing you did to cause it.  If
you are looking for instant gratification, go find something other than
microcontrollers to play with.


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