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71 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Book, November 6, 2002
This review is from: Programming & Customizing PICmicro Microcontrollers (Paperback)
I am a professional embedded programmer. I purchased this book so that I could get up to speed on the Microchip PIC architecture and its assembly language. I read the first 105 pages of the book in detail so that I'd have a basic understanding of the PIC micro architecture for the mid-range family. (I acquired an MPLAB-ICD, from Microchip, which is based on the 16F877 -midrange chip.) Afterwards I went straight to the section in chap. 14 on the MPLAB-ICD and got the ICD kit running. After that, I went to chapter 15 and did the first 10 experiments using the MPLAB-ICD. Basically, the course that I followed allowed me to get up to speed in the shortest amount of time. Most of these experiments were designed for the 16F84 but they're all easily modified to run on the 16F877. My findings: 1. The book is sprinkled with spelling and grammatical errors, however so is the Microchip documentation on their chips - this is more frustrating because you're taking Microchip's word as absolute truth. 2. It is nice that Myke included the El-Cheapo programmer circuit board. However, given the time and cost associated with building it, I'd rather use the MPLAB-ICD. However (there's always a however) the El-Cheapo programs quite a variety while the ICD only does the 16F877. (Note: Microchip has a new ICD that programs all or most of their chips. It's low cost and is already built.) 3. Unlike other reviewers, I found the code that I ran to be reliable - I found no blatant errors in the code - errors that would keep the code from running "as advertised." I copied my code from the CD - this was a time-saver. 4. The book is way too long to read from cover to cover. I'd die of boredom if I tried to do this. When I was going through the first 10 experiments, I skipped to the earlier chapters to dig for information. This is a fact of life when programming microcontrollers. You typically don't read whole data books on a microcontroller. Fortunately, I found the Microchip data sheets to have most of the information I was looking for. This minimized my searches in Myke's book. 6. Myke should have provided a road map to assist people with different levels of experience get up to speed in the shortest time possible. 7. To be fair, the book was comprehensive and I was able to find answers to most of my PIC architecture/assembly questions. 8. The index is not easy to read. Take a look at it and you'll understand what I mean. Sometimes, I felt like I needed a magnifying glass. The topics and their subtopics are in the same small font and the subtopics are often numerous - sometimes extending to the next page. Myke, for the next edition fix this. 9. Chapter 13 has quite a deal of information on the YAP-II programmer. This information would have been better kept on the CD so as not to pack the book with too much information. 10. I am specifically interested in the electronic thermometer project on page 957. For my application Myke's approach is not adequate, however it may be fine for you. Regardless, I enjoyed seeing his approach and comparing it to mine. Myke uses a thermistor as part of an RC circuit which is charged to 5 volts. The capacitor is then discharged through the thermistor to a known voltage (2.5v) and the time constant for the circuit is determined from this. This measured time is directly related to the thermistor's resistance which is directly related to the temperature. After reading Myke's book, I implemented a 16 by 16 signed multiply on the 16F877. I used a least squares curve fitting program to derive a cubic equation for the thermistor's data (same one Myke used) and implemented this equation on the PIC using fixed point arithmetic. I used information in Chap 15 to get the serial port going - by cutting and pasting. I had a friend write a Visual Basic app to display the temperature on a PC. Armed with the PIC information from Myke's book, I implemented a temperature controller that can accurately hold the temp. in an oven to better than 2 Deg. F. (with minimal over/undershoot) and reports the temperature to a PC. The approach I took yields greater precision and requires less parts however Myke's approach is simpler. Maybe I'll write a book on this... I recommend getting this book if you want to get started with the PIC microcontroller - it's a good reference...
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68 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
superb, comprehensive, but too many errors, July 31, 2002
This review is from: Programming & Customizing PICmicro Microcontrollers (Paperback)
OVERVIEW: This book is a detailed and comprehensive discussion of the three categories of PIC micro MCUs (low-, mid- and high-end). At over 1,000 pages, the book covers the products in (sometimes very technical) detail. It's an excellent resource for microcontroller beginners, as well as those with micro experience but are new to PIC. The book provides excellent descriptions of how the PIC MCUs work, including details about their instruction sets, hardware features, tips for assembly language and macro development, and a slew of interesting experiments and projects. ADD-ONS: The book includes a CD and a PCB (printed circuit board). The CD contains project code, additional information, data sheets, and even an entire chapter (presumably left out of the actual text because it's already quite lengthy) that provides an excellent introduction to electronics. It (the extra chapter) covers all the basics, and segues into PIC-related electronics issues. The chapter, for example, provides an excellent power supply circuit for PIC experimenting. The PCB is for the "El Cheapo" PIC programmer -- you need to purchase the components (which might be difficult to find), and then you can solder them up onto the included PCB and you'll have a working PIC programmer! IMPORTANT: Be sure you check the author's web site BEFORE ordering your parts -- I believe the parts list has been updated since the text was published. REFERENCE QUALITY: The book does not make a good reference -- partly because of the way it's structured. (You'll find yourself flipping pages quite a lot if you intend it as reference material.) It is, however, a quite comprehensive and logically organized as a textbook. As an example, the author goes into the why's and how's of the instruction set, rather than just copying a reference table from the Microchip datasheets. Included in the discussions are things to watch out for, optimization ideas, and tricks of the trade. There are also a good number of code samples, which illustrate techniques the author teaches. The index, contents, Appendices (10!) and supporting material on the CD-ROM are all quite good. ERORS, TYPOES, AND MI$TAKES: Unfortunately there are quite a few errors in the text. Careful readers, though, will catch most of them, -- but they're enough to get you scratching your head in confusion from time to time. If you read critically and experiment as you go, you'll probably do just fine -- just don't bet your job on any one sentence or code snippet. Where there are errors, they're usually typos. They're *not* the types of errors where the author is just dead wrong and thinks he's right. The book could have used a good, qualified technical editor. I like to consider the errors puzzles -- to keep me on my toes. =) TARGET READER: The text can sometimes get confusing, and is targeted at those with at least some technical education (though I'm sure a bright kid could learn from it, too). If you get stuck somewhere, just move on and come back to it later. This is not the kind of book you just read once then store on the bookshelf, and it's not the type you read through without ever turning back, either. COMPARED TO SIMILAR BOOKS: This book wins hands down. Take a look at "Programming and Customizing the AVR" to see what I mean. This text does not simply regurgitate information in the datasheets. It goes into DETAIL. For example, "subwf" isn't explained away as "subtract w from f", instead the text explains why this command is a bit different than others, and how it can be thought of to make more sense. BINDING QUALITY: The book is paperback and is bound in such a way that the pages will not turn and the cover will not swing closed when set flat - a great benefit when following along with experiments. Also, the binding has held up quite nicely and all the pages are held tightly in place, even after being left in a hot car all day. CONCLUSIONS: Four stars only because of the errors and because it's a poor reference. Otherwise, A+ all the way. Highly recommended, indeed. I hope this information is helpful to you.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Indespensible but flawed, January 26, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Programming & Customizing PICmicro Microcontrollers (Paperback)
If you are new to PICs, this book is great. Background info, assembly programming concepts, and plenty of examples got me up and running quickly. The style is much more enjoyable and accessible than that of some other PIC books I've struggled through. This book is worth the price, so I highly recommend it. I wish I could give the book 5 stars, but the numerous of errors are very distracting. By "numerous," I mean "several per page." I've even found errors in the code--fortunately, some are so flagrant that even a beginner like me would notice. Two things (other than copyediting) I'd like to see in the next edition: 1. The book could use a "quick start" section at the beginning, telling you which chapters to read (in which order) depending on your skills and interests. I ended up reading through lots of technical data on high-end PICs before arriving at some easy programming sections, and there was frequent repetition. 2. The appendices provide much information, but they lack something important: an all-inclusive table of assembly commands and their parameter types. When I first started out, I had to flip through the text of Chap. 4 quite a bit to hunt down the command I wanted.
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