Customer Reviews

Programming & Customizing PICmicro Microcontrollers

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

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...

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.

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.

I spoke with McGraw-Hill customer service, and found out that when the book went back to reprint a decision was made to eliminate the CD-ROM because of the various technical difficulties consumers were having. The ISBN remains the same. So you can't get the version with the CD-ROM anymore.

Just as bad as his 8051 book in the quality of the English. He probably knows how to program the PIC MCUs, but I couldn't stick around long enough to find out. The book desperately needs an editor, and the publisher should be ashamed of letting a semi-literate author get away with this. It reflects on them as much as on him. The bad grammar and spelling can distract one from the technical errors. And there are plenty of those, partly oversight and partly the author's own shallow understanding.

Just opening at random to pp. 178-179, on clock oscillators I learn that "applications that require extreme accuracy allow the use of cheaper clock designs." How about "do not require"? Then I learn that "an error of 30% to the target speed are not unheard of." Sure, that's just English, but gee whiz, it's that way through the book. Then I learn that the circuit uses a "Schmidt trigger," presumably the German version of the well-known Schmitt trigger. Lower on the page I find "Crystals and ceramic resonators delay the propagation of a signal a set amount of time. This set amount is dependent on how the crystal is cut." If ever an author were asked to demonstrate that he hasn't a clue about how a crystal works, he couldn't find a better way. And so forth. It's that way on every page.

He probably knows the PIC processors pretty well, and I won't take that away from him. One pass through the book by a competent copy editor, and another by a real electronic expert could easily turn this into a much shorter, coherent, accurate, and useful book, but neither of those has happened.

All his books seem to have a strange combination of rave reviews and pans, with very little in between. That's unnatural, and the explanation that jumps to mind is bothersome.

Not only is this a great book, but the CD-ROM and PCB that comes with it makes the whole package really special! I just finished building the elcheapo programmer PCB that comes with the book and I've started working through the experiments. I've never seen a technical book that allowed me to get started so easily.

The CD-ROM that comes with the book is fantastic - it could be sold on it's own. Each experiment and project has it's own html page (including graphics showing you how to wire the circuits) along with all the tools that you will need to develop your own projects. I really liked all the web pages devoted to example code that you can cut and paste into your own PIC projects.

The CD-ROM has two large (over 100 page) pdfs "Introduction to Electronics" and "Introduction to Programming" that will help newbies understand the background to how the PIC is used in circuits.

The extras (PCB and CD-ROM) allow you to be productive with the PIC in a very short amount of time and give you everything you need to create your own applications

It's a great book, no question. But Predko gets so bogged down in technical minutia that it's incredibly frustrating for beginners with little or no knowledge of the PIC and Assembly Language programming. It does include a programmer and tons of software along with some primers in basic electronics and programming theory, but it all suffers from hyper technical jargon and glosses over topics useful to beginners with this preconceived notion that you already know these things, so why waste time here?

Ironically enough, Predko's claim that complaints about the First Edition being overly technical was his inspiration to write the second. Amazing, I can only imagine what the First Edition looked like.

I don't mean to be completely negative though, it's a great book with a lot of added value (via the programmer and software) It definitely has a place on your bookshelf if you're interested in PIC programming and has a great collection of experiments, including ultrasonic range finding that are just enthralling. The best.

Buy it, but if you are a beginner plan on going though it after you have read a more basic introduction to the PIC and Assembly. IMO, that's the only way a beginner will truly appreciate this book.

I work as an editor and technical writer, so I feel I can speak with some authority when I say that few people know their subject as well as Predko, BUT... the lack of proofreading, and the manyfold technical and grammatical errors make this book a tool that must be used with great care. The problem here is not dissimilar from having a wandering lover: so much about them is great, but you never know when you are hearing the truth. In this book, the annoying sentence fragments and back-to-back contradictions are bad enough; but more worrisome is the fact that the errors are so prevalent that everything, from code to the PCB that comes with the book, must be viewed with great skepticism.
I am surprised that McGraw Hill would publish this book in its present condition; and I am as surprised that this author would submit it for publication with so much work obviously left undone. His other books are clearly better, so it's not like Myke doesn't know what should have been done here.
If you know PIC programming well enough to know when Myke is mistaken, or when the manuscript misrepresents his thoughts (and good luck knowing which), by all means buy it. For those who are just starting out with MCUs, don't buy the book just now, unless you want a good lesson on the arrogance of the publishing industry when it comes to your money.

Hello and greetings from Australia. I just wanted to jot down a few of my thoughts about this new book on programming PIC microcontrollers.

The book arrived two days ago without the CD which was advertised. I decided to get on with building the programmer supplied inside the front cover. This is where my troubles began. I had to practically tear the front cover off to remove the sticky and bulky plastic envelope from my new book - mmm. I got on with building the cheapo programmer (that's one of the reasons I purchased the book). I don't want to make a big deal out of this but I do feel obliged to inform those who are about to palm out money.

The programmer's design itself is over simplified and a little antiquated to say the least. When built according to the book, it simply does not work. I could and will if disputed, quote the anomalies, which can be found in the schematic, the overlay diagram, and the overlay of the actual pcb. The fact that the zener regulator's series resistor gets no relief from it's 400mW of power load generates a heat so intense so as to present what I would consider a fire risk.

Whilst on the subject of things that don't work the windows interface supplied for use in debugging the 'cheapo' doesn't seem to work on my computer either, I get error messages.

What has all this got to do with the book titled "Programming and Customising the PIC Micro Micro Micro's?" It's simple really... I will find it difficult to believe anything this author tells me from here on in. The fact that this chaper at least made it to print simply astounds me. The anomalies should have been ironed out - because this is volume 2, isn't it? The fact that a mass produced article such as the programming board supplied could go to production in this state of dissaray defies
logic.

If you are considering buying this book, see if you can get it from the public library first, so that you can make up your own mind. I am not exaggerating any of this and hope you found some of my observations useful.

Being a software developer by trade and having built many projects as an electronics hobbyist, I decided to learn something I hadn't ventured into before - PICs. Browsing this book in the bookstore, it looked extremely well done. The topics seemed to be covered thourougly, organization was fair. But after sitting down to actually use it.... What a disaster of a publishing feat. It seems that nothing except maybe (maybe) the processor architecture taken from the standard Microchip data sheets and product info is correct! The instructions for building the programmer are quite bad - every version of everything is different, the PCB, the CD ROM instructions, the book.... <sigh> After ordering parts and getting it built to what seems to be the correct way - it doesn't work (even though the test points given in the text pass). Email to the author to ask a question about the circuit - no response. I gave up and ordered Newfoundlands' Warp-13 PIC programmer (excellent product, by the way). So then I tried a couple of the projects in the book. Well, guess what, the schematics don't match the software and there are obvious errors in... well, everything. This book reminds me of the Monty Python cheese shop skit - "it will intentionally waste your time". Do yourself a favor and find another book.