PIC Microcontrollers: Know It All (Newnes Know It All) [Paperback]

Lucio Di Jasio (Author), Tim Wilmshurst (Author), Dogan Ibrahim (Author), John Morton (Author), Martin P. Bates (Author), Jack Smith (Author), David W Smith (Author), Chuck Hellebuyck (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 13, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0750686154 | ISBN-13: 978-0750686150

The Newnes Know It All Series takes the best of what our authors have written over the past few years and creates a one-stop reference for engineers involved in markets from communications to embedded systems and everywhere in between.

PIC design and development a natural fit for this reference series as it is one of the most popular microcontrollers in the world and we have several superbly authored books on the subject. This material ranges from the basics to more advanced topics. There is also a very strong project basis to this learning. The average embedded engineer working with this microcontroller will be able to have any question answered by this compilation. He/she will also be able to work through real-life problems via the projects contained in the book. The Newnes Know It All Series presentation of theory, hard fact, and project-based direction will be a continual aid in helping the engineer to innovate in the workplace.

Section I. An Introduction to PIC Microcontrollers
Chapter 1. The PIC Microcontroller Family
Chapter 2. Introducing the PIC 16 Series and the 16F84A
Chapter 3. Parallel Ports, Power Supply and the Clock Oscillator

Section II. Programming PIC Microcontrollers using Assembly Language
Chapter 4. Starting to Program-An Introduction to Assembler
Chapter 5. Building Assembler Programs
Chapter 6. Further Programming Techniques
Chapter 7. Prototype Hardware
Chapter 8. More PIC Applications and Devices
Chapter 9. The PIC 1250x Series (8-pin PIC microcontrollers)
Chapter 10. Intermediate Operations using the PIC 12F675
Chapter 11. Using Inputs
Chapter 12. Keypad Scanning
Chapter 13. Program Examples

Section III. Programming PIC Microcontrollers using PicBasic
Chapter 14. PicBasic and PicBasic Pro Programming
Chapter 15. Simple PIC Projects
Chapter 16. Moving On with the 16F876
Chapter 17. Communication

Section IV. Programming PIC Microcontrollers using MBasic
Chapter 18. MBasic Compiler and Development Boards
Chapter 19. The Basics-Output
Chapter 20. The Basics-Digital Input
Chapter 21. Introductory Stepper Motors
Chapter 22. Digital Temperature Sensors and Real-Time Clocks
Chapter 23. Infrared Remote Controls

Section V. Programming PIC Microcontrollers using C
Chapter 24. Getting Started
Chapter 25. Programming Loops
Chapter 26. More Loops
Chapter 27. NUMB3RS
Chapter 28. Interrupts
Chapter 29. Taking a Look under the Hood*Over 900 pages of practical, hands-on content in one book!
*Huge market - as of November 2006 Microchip Technology Inc., a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, produced its 5 BILLIONth PIC microcontroller
*Several points of view, giving the reader a complete 360 of this microcontroller

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lucio Di Jasio is now Sales Manager in Europe for Microchip Inc. He was previously Application Segments Manager at Microchip in Chandler AZ. He has been intimately involved in the development of Microchip PIC products for over 10 years and is a well known writer and expert on the use of PIC products both via his Newnes books and his work at events such as the Microchip Masters.

Tim Wilmshurst is the author of Designing Embedded Systems with PIC Microcontrollers. He has been designing embedded systems since the early days of microcontrollers. For many years this was for Cambridge University, where he led a development team building original systems for research applications - for example in measurement of bullet speed, wind tunnel control, simulated earthquakes, or seeking a cure to snoring. Now he is Head of Electronic Systems at the University of Derby, where he aims to share his love of engineering design with his students.

Dogan Ibrahim works for the Traffic Control Systems Unit in London, UK. He was formerly a lecturer at South Bank University and Head of Department at Near East University, Cyprus in the UK.

David Smith has had 30 years experience in the Electronics Industry. Before arriving at MMU he worked as an Electronics Design Engineer for ICL and Marconi. His teaching interests are focused on enabling Design and Technology students to implement microcontroller designs into their projects.

Founder and president of elproducts, Inc., a firm specializing in devices and project kits based on the PIC microcontroller. He writes a monthly column on the PIC microcontroller for "Nuts and Volts" magazine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 928 pages
• Publisher: Newnes (August 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750686154
• ISBN-13: 978-0750686150
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #790,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #32 in Books > Computers & Technology > Hardware > Microprocessors & System Design > PIC Microcontroller

More About the Author

Tim Wilmshurst was born in West Africa, where he spent his early years and started his schooling. From childhood he was fascinated with how things worked, and spent many hours making models, or taking things to pieces and hoping to put them back together again.

After playing with the idea of a career in professional music, Tim was drawn first into engineering design and then into education. He has had two spells working in the Engineering Department of the University of Cambridge, one in Botswana Polytechnic, and is currently Head of Electronics at the University of Derby. At Cambridge he had the privilege of contributing to much ground-breaking research through his designs, focussing mainly on control and instrumentation. This included work in the fields of aerospace, geotechnical, medical and motor vehicle. He also claims to have introduced the first microprocessor into the British Houses of Parliament, and the first microcontroller into the Kalahari Desert!

Tim believes in learning by doing, and aims to share his fascination with how things work, and how to devise new or different things. He has developed the Derbot project, which encourages students to develop inventive autonomous vehicles, based on a given core design.

Tim's books encapsulate his teaching and design work; all are supported on his web site, at www.embedded-knowhow.co.uk.

Tim also enjoys long distance cycling and hiking, playing the violin, and family life.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PIC from the beginning, but must already be a nerd, August 17, 2009

By 

Michael - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: PIC Microcontrollers: Know It All (Newnes Know It All) (Paperback)

(What's this?)

I'm a computer tech by trade. I've never programmed a pic, but do do some basic computer programming.I've wanted to learn about PIC microcomputers, so I was excited to read this book. For me it's just what I wanted: a technical manual with a lot of good information.

This book is for you if you are:
-wanting to know everything about PICs. There really is a lot of info here. If you want one book to take you through every area of PICs, this seems to me to be it all. I am a beginner, but I'm more than happy with all the info it has!

This book is not for you if you:
-If you need any hand holding. All the info is here, but if you don't understand it, you're out of luck. One reviewer said this book isn't for beginners, and another review said it's the perfect place for beginners. Well they're both right. If you already are a computer programmer/geek, long time electronics hobbyist, etc, but you know nothing about PIC--it is a great place to start. But if you're looking for PIC for dummies, this is definitely not it.

It does have chapters on programming PICS in BASIC, but it does not teach you BASIC for example. The first chapter jumps into a decent amount of technical info and expects you to know what a computer register is and differentiates between PICs by the bit length of their instruction set. If you don't understand what I am talking about, you might need something more basic first (learning some assembler language may help a lot).

But again, for me this book is at the perfect level. I am learning a lot from this book!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pleased with this purchase, August 6, 2009

By 

rwizard "rwizard" (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: PIC Microcontrollers: Know It All (Newnes Know It All) (Paperback)

So often when purchasing technical books I am disappointed by their contents. This book does not fall into that category. It provides a solid overview of using PIC micro-controllers. Examples are given with the usual assortment of stepper motors and temperature sensors. It provides an introduction to programming with a variety of tools, including my personal favorites for the PIC, assembler and MELabs' PIC BASIC. I do wish the coverage of assembler were more in depth, but that is my personal bias.

Another reviewer felt that this book was not for beginners. Perhaps thirty years of doing this stuff has skewed my perspective, but I do not think that this book is a bad place for a serious beginner to start. Yes, it is a handy reference for the pro's, but if you have a talent for this sort of stuff, I think this book can get you started (with some effort) and continue to serve as a useful reference going forward. No one book is likely to solve all of your questions, but this will one give you an overview of what your options are with the PIC.

If you are a beginner, and not a pro, I will offer you a suggestion that virtually no one else will agree with. Learn an assembler language first. Once you overcome the initial learning curve of all the mnemonics, registers, and the odd ways we do math, you will understand what is going on under the hood as few do. And, like me, you may find that it is actually fun to program in assembler. I'd rather write in assembler than C any day. If, on the other hand, you need a little instant gratification (and we all do from time to time) try PIC BASIC, or even a BASIC STAMP.

But I digress. This is an excellent book in spite of lacking depth in some areas. I am glad I spent the money for it, and most of you will be as well.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EVERYTHING You Need To Know To Design PIC Microcontroller Systems, August 4, 2009

By 

Ira Laefsky "Ira Laefsky" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: PIC Microcontrollers: Know It All (Newnes Know It All) (Paperback)

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I wish that such an omnibus handbook had been available for the design of Microcontroller Systems when I was introduced to there eight-bit ancestors in the late 1970's. In fact, I wish that a volume which described Assembly and Higher-Level Language Programming, Interface Circuit Design, Analog-to-Digital Conversions, everything one needs to know about interfacing a variety of Sensors and Actuators, Stepper Motors, Real-Time Clocks and IR-Remote Controls were available for the design of any kind of Microcontroller System.

Now, an unbelievably comprehensive guide to the Programming, Hardware Prototyping, Interfacing and Debugging of significant real applications for the widely available Harvard-Architecture PIC Microcontroller family. This invaluable reference will guide my subsequent design of any Microcontroller-based system, and is well enough explicated to serve as an introduction for the Hardware Novice (such as typical graduates of most university Computer Science programs), or as complete reference for the EE who must implement a PIC-based Microtroller solution to any real-world problem in sensing and control.

--Ira Laefsky
Information Technology Consultant and HCI Researcher