Richard,

It goes without saying that I make hardware and software work together even=
 though they originally had not been designed to do so. I am not someone wh=
o goes around breaking into computers or someone who steals people's money.

I don't find that programming in C is faster than programming in Assembly s=
imply because I don't know C! And I really don't have time to learn it eith=
er. To me, hardware Independence and software modularity isn't important be=
cause I don't program PICs that frequently, and because Microchip still sel=
ls all the old chips for which I originally wrote my Assembly code.  And in=
 those rare cases when I need to move the code to a different PIC, it's not=
 hard for me to repurpose my ASM code to do that. =20

As to the contention that the best C compilers can somehow best an experien=
ced Assembly programmer, well, I'll leave that open to debate.  All I can s=
ay is that I have programmed Assembly code in PIC where I have used all ava=
ilable program memory -- every last byte.  Assembly code combined with expe=
rience allowed me to fit what would otherwise have called for a different P=
IC had I been using a HLL like C.  But since the PIC was decided and I coul=
dn't alter it (repurposing a dead stock item for an entirely different purp=
ose) I had to make my code fit, and with Assembly and some code slimming tr=
icks up my sleeve, I accomplished it.

Sure there are reasons for me to learn C, but I have years of experience wi=
th Assembly, so it would be a long, long time before I would exit the stude=
nt stage and become a proficient veteran C programmer.  Plus, I began learn=
ing Assembly in my 20's but now I'm in my 40's, so I think ASM will always =
be more a part of me than any new language I could learn.  That keeps me co=
ntent with Assembly.

Honestly, if there were a lot of ASM code examples, with detailed notes, av=
ailable for modern, high-end PICs today, I think more people would try thei=
r hand at Assembly.  But without lots of ASM examples, you need to read the=
 datasheets along side books on PIC, many of the books being written like t=
hey were designed for a university course, and in my opinion sometimes hard=
 to follow without a human instructor there to help you.  And therein lies =
the value of this list in that we can tap the knowledge and experience of o=
thers to help speed us on our way. =20

Thanks to one and all who answered my 16F1508 questions to date.

Best,

James Wages

> Do you make hardware and software work together even though they=20
> had originally been designed not to do so? That is the definition of a=20
> hacker. Most electronics hobbyist are hackers in one form or another. Of=
=20
> course there are the criminals whom do this to hurt and steal peoples=20
> money. They are crackers. And as always the MSM calls all of us crackers=
=20
> when 99.9% of us aren't.


--=20
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