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TOC Introduction Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch 4. Ch. 5 Ch. 6 Ch. 7 Ch. 8 Ch. 9 App. A App. B App. C
Book:PICMicrocontrollers
AppendixA:ProgrammingaMicrocontroller
MicrocontrollersandhumanscommunicatethroughthemediumoftheprogramminglanguagecalledAssemblylanguage.Theword
Assembleritselfdoesnothaveanydeepermeaning,itcorrespondstothenamesofotherlanguagessuchasEnglishorFrench.More
precisely,assemblylanguageisonlyapassingsolution.Inorderthatthemicrocontrollercanunderstandaprogramwritteninassembly
language,itmustbecompiledintoalanguageofzerosandones.AssemblylanguageandAssemblerdonothavethesamemeaning.The
firstonereferstothesetofrulesusedforwritingprogramforthemicrocontroller,whilethelaterreferstoaprogramonapersonalcomputer
usedtotranslateassemblylanguagestatementsintothelanguageofzerosandones.AcompiledprogramisalsocalledMachineCode.A
"Program"isadatafilestoredonacomputerharddisc(orinmemoryofthemicrocontroller,ifloaded)andwrittenaccordingtotherulesof
assemblyorsomeotherprogramminglanguage.Assemblylanguageisunderstandableforhumansbecauseitconsistsofmeaningfulwords
andsymbolsofthealphabet.Letustake,forexamplethecommand"RETURN"whichis,asitsnameindicates,usedtoreturnthe
microcontrollerfromasubroutine.Inmachinecode,thesamecommandisrepresentedbya14bitarrayofzerosandonesunderstandableby
themicrocontroller.Allassemblylanguagecommandsaresimilarlycompiledintothecorrespondingarrayofzerosandones.Adatafileused
forstoringcompiledprogramiscalledan"executivefile",i.e."HEXdatafile".Thenamecomesfromthehexadecimalpresentationofadata
fileandhasasuffixof"hex"aswell,forexample"probe.hex".Afterhasbeengenerated,thedatafileisloadedintothemicrocontrollerusinga
programmer.Assemblylanguageprogramsmaybewritteninanyprogramfortextprocessing(editor)abletocreateASCIIdatafilesonahard
discorinaspecializedworkenvironmentsuchasMPLABdescribedlater.
ELEMENTSOFASSEMBLYLANGUAGE
Aprogramwritteninassemblylanguageconsistsofseveralelementsbeingdifferentlyinterpretedwhilecompilingtheprogramintoan
executabledatafile.Theuseoftheseelementsrequiresstrictrulesanditisnecessarytopayspecialattentiontothemduringprogramwriting
inordertoavoiderrors.
ASSEMBLYLANGUAGESYNTAX
Asmentioned,itisnecessarytoobservesomespecificrulesinordertoenabletheprocessofcompilingintoexecutiveHEXcodetorun
withouterrors.Compulsoryrulesexplaininghowsequencesofexpressionsareputtogethertoformthestatementsthatmakeupanassembly
languageprogramarecalledsyntax.Thereareonlyseveralofthem:
Everyprogramlinemayconsistofamaximumof255characters
Everyprogramlinethatistobecompiledmuststartwithasymbol,label,mnemonicsordirective
Textfollowingthemark""inaprogramlinerepresentsacommentwhichisignoredbytheassembler(notcompiled)
and
Alltheelementsofoneprogramline(labels,instructionsetc.)mustbeseparatedbyatleastonespacecharacter.For
thesakeofbetterclearness,apushbuttonTABiscommonlyusedinsteadofit,sothatitiseasytodelimitcolumns
withlabels,directivesetc.inaprogram.
LABELS
AlabelrepresentsatextualversionofsomeaddressinROMorRAMmemory.Eachlabelhastostartinthefirstcolumnwithaletterof
alphabetor"_"andmayconsistofmaximumof32characters.Besides,itiseasilyused:
Itissufficienttoenterthenameofalabelinsteadofa16bitaddressininstructionwhichcallssomesubroutineora
jump.Thelabelwiththesamenameshouldalsobewrittenatthebeginningofaprogramlineinwhichasubroutine
startsorwhereajumpshouldbeexecuted.Asageneralrule,labelshaveeasilyrecognizablenames.
Duringprogramcompiling,theassemblerwillautomaticallyreplacethelabelsbythecorrespondingaddresses.
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8/27/2014 Appendix A: Programming a Microcontroller - Book: PIC Microcontrollers
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COMMENTS
Acommentisoftenanexplanatorytextwrittenbytheprogrammerinordertomakeaprogramclearerandeasiertounderstand.Itisnot
necessarytocommenteveryline.Whenthreeorfourlinesofcodeworktogethertoaccomplishsomehigherleveltask,itisbettertohavea
singlehigherlevelcommentforthegroupoflines.Therefore,itisaddedifneededandhastostartwith"".Commentsaddedtoassembly
sourcecodearenotcompiledintomachinecode.
INSTRUCTIONS
Instructionsaredefinedforeachmicrocontrollerfamilybythemanufacturer.Therefore,itisuptotheusertofollowtherulesoftheirusage.
Thewayofwritinginstructionsisalsocalledinstructionsyntax.Theinstructions"movlp"and"gotto",inthefollowingexample,are
recognizedbythePIC16F887microcontrollerasanerrorsincetheyarenotcorrectlywritten.
OPERANDS
Anoperandisavalue(anargument)uponwhichtheinstruction,namedbymnemonic,operates.Theoperandsmaybearegister,avariable,
aliteralconstant,alabeloramemoryaddress.
DIRECTIVES
Unlikeinstructionsbeingwrittentoonchipprogrammemoryaftercompilation,directivesarecommandsofassemblylanguageitselfanddo
notdirectlyaffecttheoperationofthemicrocontroller.Someofthemmustbeusedineveryprogramwhileothersareonlyusedtofacilitateor
enhancetheoperation.Directivesarewrittentothecolumnreservedforinstructions.Therulewhichmustbeobservedallowsonlyone
directiveperprogramline.
Thissectioncoversonlyafewofthemostcommonlyuseddirectives.Itwouldcertainlytakeuptoomuchspaceandtimetodescribeallthe
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directivesrecognizedbytheMPLABprogram.Anyway,acompletelistcontainingalldirectiveswhichtheMPLABassemblercanunderstand
isprovidedinHelp.
PROCESSORDirective
Thisdirectivemustbewrittenatthebeginningofeachprogram.Itdefinesthetypeofthemicrocontrollerwhichtheprogramiswrittenfor.For
example:
Processor16f887
EQUdirective
Thisdirectiveisusedtoreplaceanumericvaluebyasymbol.Inthisway,someaspecificlocationinmemoryisassignedaname.For
example:
MAXIMUMEQUH25
Thismeansthatamemorylocationataddress25(hex.)isassignedthename"MAXIMUM".Everyappearanceofthelabel"MAXIMUM"inthe
programwillbeinterpretedbytheassemblerastheaddress25(MAXIMUM=H25).Symbolsmaybedefinedthiswayonlyonceina
program.Thatthisdirectiveismostlyusedatthebeginningoftheprogram.
ORGdirective
Thisdirectivespecifiesalocationinprogrammemorywheretheprogramfollowingdirectiveistobeplaced.Forexample:
ORG0x100
START......
...
ORG0x1000
TABLE...
...
Thisprogramstartsatlocation0x100.Thetablecontainingdataistobestoredatlocation1024(1000h).
ENDdirective
Eachprogrammustbeendedbyusingthisdirective.Onceaprogramencountersthisdirective,theassemblerimmediatelystopscompiling.
Forexample:
...
ENDEndofprogram
\$INCLUDEdirective
Thenameofthisdirectivefullyindicatesitspurpose.Duringcompiling,itenablestheassemblertousedatacontainedinanotherfileona
computerharddisc.Forexample:
...
#include<p16f887.inc>
CBLOCKandENDCdirectives
Allvariables(theirnamesandaddresses)thatwillbeusedinaprogrammustbedefinedatthebeginningoftheprogram.Becauseofthisitis
notnecessarytospecifytheaddressofeachspecifiedvariablelaterintheprogram.Instead,itisenoughtospecifytheaddressofthefirstone
byusingdirectiveCBLOCKandlistallothersafterwards.Thecompilerautomaticallyassignsthesevariablesthecorrespondingaddressesas
pertheordertheyarelisted.Lastly,thedirectiveENDCindicatestheendofthelistofvariables.
CBLOCK0x20
STARTaddress0x20
RELEaddress0x21
STOPaddress0x22
LEFTaddress0x23
RIGHTaddress0x24
ENDC
...
IF,ENDIFandELSEdirectives
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Thesedirectivesareusedtocreatesocalledconditionalblocksinaprogram.EachoftheseblocksstartswiththedirectiveIFandendswith
thedirectiveENDIForELSE.Astatementorasymbol(inparentheses)followingthedirectiveIFrepresentsaconditionwhichdetermines
whichpartoftheprogramistobecompiled:
Ifthestatementiscorrectorthevalueofasymbolisequaltoone,programcompilesallinstructionswrittenbefore
directiveELSEorENDIFand
Ifthestatementisnotcorrectorthevalueofasymbolisequaltozero,onlyinstructionswrittenafterdirectivesELSE
orENDIFaretobecompiled.
Example1:
IF(VERSION>3)
CALLTable_2
CALL
ENDIF
...
Iftheprogramisreleasedaftertheversion3(statementisright)thensubroutines"Table2"and"Extension"areexecuted.Ifthestatementin
parenthesesiswrong(VERSION<3),twoinstructionscallingsubroutinesareignoredandwillnotbecompiledtherefore.
Example2:
Ifthevalueofsymbol"Model"isequaltoonethenfirsttwoinstructionsafterdirectiveIFarecompiledaswellasinstructionsafterdirective
ENDIF(allinstructionsbetweenELSEandENDIFareignored).Otherwise,ifModel=0theninstructionsbetweenIFandELSEareignored,
whereasinstructionsafterdirectiveELSEarecompiled.
IF(Model)
MOVFWBUFFER
MOVWFMAXIMUM
ELSE
MOVFWBUFFER1
MOVWFMAXIMUM
ENDIF
...
BANKSELdirective
InordertoaccessanSFRregisteritisnecessarytoselecttheappropriatebankinRAMmemorybyusingbitsRP0andRP1oftheSTATUS
register.Thisdirectiveisusedinthiscase.Simply,since"inc"datafilecontainsthelistofallregistersalongwiththeiraddresses,the
assemblerknowswhichbankcorrespondstowhichregister.Afterencounteringthisdirective,assemblerselectsthebitsRP0andRP1forthe
specifiedregisteronitsown.Forexample:
...
BANKSELTRISB
CLRFTRISB
MOVLWB01001101
BANKSELPORTB
MOVWFPORTB
...
EXAMPLEOFHOWTOWRITEAPROGRAM
Thefollowingexampleillustrateswhatasimpleprogramwritteninassemblylanguagelookslike.
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Apartfromtheregularrulesofassemblylanguage,therearealsosomeunwrittenruleswhichshouldbeobservedduringprogramwriting.One
ofthemistowriteinafewwordsatthebeginningofaprogramwhattheprogramsnameis,whatitisusedfor,version,releasedate,typeof
themicrocontrolleritiswrittenforandthenameoftheprogrammer.Sincethisinformationisnotofimportancefortheassembler,itiswritten
asacommentwhichalwaysstartswithsemicolonandcanbewritteninanewlineorimmediatelyafteracommand.
Afterwritingthisgeneralcomment,itistimetoselectthemicrocontrollerbyusingdirectivePROCESSOR.Thisdirectiveisfollowedbyanother
oneusedtoincludeallthedefinitionsofthePIC16F887microcontrollersinternalregistersintheprogram.Thesedefinitionsarenothingbut
theabilitytoaddressportBandotherregistersasPORTBinsteadof06h,whichmakestheprogramclearerandmorelegible.
Inorderthatthemicrocontrollerwilloperateproperly,aseveralparameterssuchasthetypeofoscillator,stateofthewatchdogandinternal
resetcircuitmustbedefined.Itisdonebyutilizingthefollowingdirective:
_CONFIG_CP_OFF&_WDT_OFF&PWRTE_ON&XT_OSC
Whenallnecessaryelementsaredefined,theprocessofprogramwritingcanstart.Firstandforemost,itisnecessarytospecifytheaddress
fromwhichthemicrocontrollerstartswhenthepowergoeson(org0x00)aswellastheaddressfromwhichtheprogramproceedswith
executionifaninterruptoccurs(org0x04).Sincethisprogramisverysimple,itisenoughtousecommand"gotoMain"inordertodirect
themicrocontrollertothebeginningoftheprogram.Thenextcommandselectsmemorybank1inordertoenableaccesstotheTRISB
registertoconfigureportBasoutput(bankselTRISB).Themainprogramendsbyselectingmemorybank0andsettingallportBpinsto
logicone(1)(movlw0xFF,movwfPORTB).
Itisnecessarytocreatealooptokeepprogramfrom"gettinglost"incaseanerroroccurs.Forthispurpose,thereisanendlessloopexecuted
allthetimewhilethemicrocontrollerisswitchedon.
"end"isrequiredattheendofeveryprogramtoinformtheassemblerthattherearenomorecommandstobecompiled.
DATAFILESRESULTINGFROMPROGRAMCOMPILING
Theresultofcompilingaprogramwritteninassemblylanguagearedatafiles.Themostimportantandmostcommonlyuseddatafilesare:
Executivedatafile(Program_Name.HEX)
Errordatafile(Program_Name.ERR)and
Listdatafile(Program_Name.LST).
Thefirstfilecontainscompiledprogramwhichisloadedintothemicrocontroller.Itscontentsgivenoinformationofimportancetothe
programmersoitwillnotbediscussedhere.Thesecondfilecontainserrorsmadeinwritingprocessanddetectedbythecompilerduring
compilingprocess.Errorscanbedetectedinlistdatafile,whichtakesmoretime,sotheerrordatafileismoresuitableforlongprograms.
Thethirdfileisthemostusefulfortheprogrammer.Itcontainslotsofinformationoncommandsandvariableslocationsinonchipmemoryas
wellaserrorsignalization.Thereisasymboltableattheendofeachdatafilelistcontainingallthesymbolsusedinaprogram.Otheruseful
elementsoflistdatafilearememoryusagemapsanderrorstatisticsprovidedattheveryendofthefilelist.
MACROSANDSUBROUTINES
Thesamesequenceofcomputinginstructionsisusuallyusedrepeatedlywithinaprogram.Assemblylanguageisverydemanding.The
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programmerisrequiredtotakecareofthelastlittledetailwhenwritingaprogram,becauseonlyonewrongcommandorlabelnamemay
causetheprogramtonotworkproperlyoritmaynotworkatall.Therefore,itislesstediousandlesserrorpronetouseasequenceof
instructionsasasingleprogramstatementwhichworksproperlyforsure.Toimplementthisidea,macrosandsubroutinesareused.
MACROS
Amacrocontainsprogrammerdefinedsymbolsthatstandforasequenceoftextlines.Itisdefinedbyusingdirectivemacrowhichnames
macroandargumentsifneeded.Macromustbedefinedprioritisused.Onceamacrohasbeendefined,itsnamemaybeusedinthe
program.Whentheassemblerencountersmacrosname,itreplacesitbytheappropriatesequenceofinstructionsandprocessesthemjustas
thoughtheyhaveappearedintheprogram.Manydifferentmacroinstructionsareavailableforvariouspurposes,eliminatingsomeofthe
repetitivenessoftheprogramming,aswellassimplifyingthewriting,readingandunderstandingoftheprogram.Thesimplestuseofmacros
maybegivinganametoaninstructionsequencebeingrepeated.Letustake,forexample,globalinterruptenableprocedure,SFRs'bank
selection.
macro_namemacroarg1,arg2...
...
sequenceofinstructions
...
endm
Thefollowingexampleshowsfourmacros.Thefirsttwomacrosselectbanks,thethirdoneenablesinterrupt,whereasthefourthonedisables
interrupt.
bank0macroMacrobank0
bcfSTATUS,RP0ResetRP0bit
bcfSTATUS,RP1ResetRP1bit
endmEndofmacro
bank1macroMacrobank1
bsfSTATUS,RP0SetRP0bit
bcfSTATUS,RP1ResetRP1bit
endmEndofmacro
enableintmacroGlobalinterruptenable
bsfINTCON,7Setbit
endmEndofmacro
disableintmacroGlobalinterruptdisable
bcfINTCON,7Resetbit
endmEndofmacro
MacrosdefinedinthiswayaresavedinaparticulardatafilewithextensionINCwhichstandsforINCLUDEdatafile.Asseen,thesefour
macrosdonothavearguments.However,macrosmayincludeargumentsifneeded.
Thefollowingexampleshowsmacroswitharguments.PinisconfiguredasinputifthecorrespondingbitoftheTRISregisterissettologicone
(bank1).Otherwise,itisconfiguredasoutput.
inputmacroarg1,arg2MacroInput
bank1BankcontainingTRISregisters
bsfarg1,arg2Setthespecifiedbit(1=Input)
bank0Macroforbank0selection
endmEndofmacro

outputmacroarg1,arg2MacroOutput
bank1BankcontainingTRISregisters
bcfarg1,arg2Clearthespecifiedbit(0=Output)
bank0Macroforbank0selection
endmEndofmacro
Macrowithargumentsmaybecalledinthefollowingway:
...
outputTRISB,7PinRB7isconfiguredasoutput
...
Whencallingthismacro,thefirstspecifiedargumentTRISBisreplacedbythefirstargumentarg1inmacrodefinition.Similarly,number7is
replacedbytheargumentarg2,andthefollowingcodeisgenerated:
...
bsfSTATUS,RP0SetRP0bit=BANK1
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bcfSTATUS,RP1ResetRP0bit=BANK1
bcfTRISB,7ConfigureRB7asoutput
bcfSTATUS,RP0ClearRP0bit=BANK0
bcfSTATUS,RP1ClearRP1bit=BANK0
...
Itisclearatfirstsightthattheprogrambecomesmorelegibleandflexiblebyusingmacros.Themaindisadvantageofmacroisthatit
occupiesalotofmemoryspacebecauseeverymacronameinaprogramisreplacedbyitspredefinedcode.Owingtothefactthatprograms
oftenusemacro,everythingismorecomplicatedifitislong.
callcmacrolabelMacrocallc
localExitDefinelocalLabelwithinmacro
bncExitIfC=0jumptoExit
calllabelIfC=1callsubroutineataddressLabel(outofmacro)
ExitLocalLabelwithinmacro
endmEndofmacro
Intheeventthatamacrohaslabels,theymustbedefinedaslocalonesbyusingdirectivelocal.Thegivenexamplecontainsmacrowhich
callsasubroutine(calllabelinthiscase)iftheCarrybitoftheSTATUSregisterisset.Otherwise,thefirstfollowinginstructionis
executed.
SUBROUTINES
Asubroutinecontainsasequenceofinstructions,beginswithalabel(subroutine_name)andendswithcommandreturnorretlw.Themain
differencecomparingtomacroisthatsubroutineisnotreplacedbyitscodeintheprogram,butprogramjumpstosubroutinetoexecuteit.It
happenseverytimetheassemblerencounterscommandcallSubroutine_nameintheprogram.Onthecommandreturn,itleavesa
subroutineandcontinuesexecutionfromwhereitleftoffthemainprogram.Subroutinemaybedefinedbothpriortooruponthecall.
Asseen,concerningmacros,theinputandoutputargumentsareofgreatimportance.Concerningsubroutines,itisnotpossibletodefine
argumentswithinthesubroutineitself.However,variablespredefinedinthemainprogrammaybeusedassubroutinearguments.
Alogicalsequenceofeventsisasfollows:definingvariables,callingsubroutinewhichusesthemandattheendreadingvariableschanged
upontheexecutionofsubroutine.
Theprograminthefollowingexampleperformsadditionoftwo2bytevariablesARG1andARG2andmovesresulttothevariableRES.When
2bytevariablesareused,itisnecessarytodefinehigherandlowerbyteforeachofthem.Theprogramitselfisverysimple.Itfirstaddslower
bytesofvariablesARG1andARG2andhigherafterwards.Ifthesumofadditionoftwolowerbytesisgreaterthan255(maximalbytevalue)
theremainderisaddedtotheRESHvariable.
Programtoaddtwo16bitnumbers
Version:1.0Date:April25,2007MCU:PIC16F887
PROCESSOR16f887Definingprocessor
#include"p16f887.inc"MicrochipINCdatabase
__CONFIG_CP_OFF&_WDT_OFF&_PWRTE_ON&_XT_OSC

Cblock0x20BeginningofRAM
ARG1HArgument1higherbyte
ARG1LArgument1lowerbyte
ARG2HArgument2higherbyte
ARG2LArgument2lowerbyte
RESHResulthigherbyte
RESLResultlowerbyte
endcEndofvariables
ORG0x00Resetvector
gotoStart
StartWritevaluestovariables
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movlw0x01ARG1=0x0104
movwfARG1H
movlw0x04
movwfARG1L
movlw0x07ARG2=0x0705
movwfARG2H
movlw0x05
movwfARG2L
MainMainprogram
callAdd16CallsubroutineAdd16
LoopgotoLoopRemainhere
Add16Subroutinetoaddtwo16bitnumbers
clrfRESHRESH=0
movfARG1L,ww=ARG1L
addwfARG2L,ww=w+ARG2L
movwfRESLRESL=w
btfscSTATUS,CIstheresultgreaterthan255?
incfRESH,fIfgreater,incrementRESHbyone

movfARG1H,ww=ARG1H
addwfARG2H,ww=w+ARG2
addwfRESH,fRESH=w
returnReturnfromsubroutine
endEndofprogram
InShort
Themaindifferencebetweenmacrosandsubroutinesisthatmacroisaftercompilingreplacedbyitscode(enablestheprogrammertotype
less).Itmayalsohaveargumentswhilesubroutineuseslessmemory,butdoesnothavearguments.
MPLAB
MPLABisaWindowsprogrampackagewhichenableseasyprogramwritingaswellaseasyprogramdevelopment.Itisbesttodescribeitas
developmentenvironmentforastandardprogramlanguagedesignedforPCprogramming.MPLABtechnicallysimplifiessomeoperations
consistingofalotofparameters,which,untiltheIDEenvironment*appeared,wereexecutedfromthecommandline.However,tastesare
differentandtherearesomeprogrammerswhopreferstandardeditorsandcommandlinecompilers.EveryprogramwritteninMPLABis
clear,buttherearealsohelpdocumentationjustincase.
INSTALLINGMPLAB
MPLABconsistsofseveralparts:
Theprogramwhichsortsdatafilesofthesameprojectintoonegroup(ProjectManager)
programfortextgeneratingandprocessing(TextEditor)and
simulatorusedtosimulatetheoperationofaprogramloadedintothemicrocontroller.
Besides,therearealsobuiltinprogrammerssuchasPICStartPlusandICD(InCircuitDebugger)thatcanbeusedtoprogramsoftwareinto
PICmicrocontrollerdevice.Sincenotbeingthesubjectofthisbook,theyarementionedasoptionsonly.
InordertostartMPLAB,yourPCshouldcontain:
PCcompatiblecomputerbelongingtoclass486orbetter
AnyWindowsoperatingsystem
VGAgraphiccard
8MBmemory(32MBrecommended)
200MBavailableharddiscand
Amouse.
MPLABinstallationcomesfirst.DatafilesfromMPLABCDshouldbecopiedtoaharddisc.Theprocessofinstallationissimilartoalmostall
otherWindowsprograminstallations.Firstofallawelcomewindowappears,thenoptionstoselectandatlastinstallationitself.Amessage
notifyingthattheprogramissuccessfullyinstalledandreadyforuseappears.Areyouready?
Stepstofollowpriortheinstallation:
Everythingisreadynowtostartinstallation.Thefollowingpicturesdescribetheinstallationsteps.
1. StartMicrosoftWindows
2. InserttheCDintoCDROM
3. ClickSTARTandselectoptionRUN
4. ClickBROWSEandselectCDROMdriveand
5. FindfolderMPLABonCDROM.
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Nextwindowcontainstheword"Welcome".Need
explanation?
Actually,theprogramremindsyoutocloseallactive
programsinordertonotinterferewiththeinstallation
process.Nextofcourse!
Priortocontinue,youhavetoaccepttheMPLAB
softwarelicenseconditions.Selecttheoption"I
accept"andclickNEXT.
Doyouwanttoinstalltheentiresoftware?Yes.Next...
Similartootherprograms,MPLABshouldbealso
installedintoafolder.Itmaybeanyfolderonanyhard
disc.Ifitisnotnecessarytomakechanges,selectthe
specifiedaddressandclickNext.
Clickonthisicontostartuptheprocess...
Somethingisgoingon...Thepicturecomingupindicatesthattheprocessofinstallationhasjuststarted!
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Anotherlicense,anotheracceptanceofoptions
specifiedbythecomputer...Next,Next...
Bepatient!
Finally!Thisiswhatyouhavebeenwaitingfor.Click
Finish.Thecomputerwillberestartedalongwiththe
programsavedonharddisc.EverythingisOK!
ClicktheMPLABdesktopiconinordertostarttheprogramandlearnaboutit.
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KeeponprojectmakingbyclickingNEXT.Thenselect
themicrocontrolleryouwillbeusing.
Asseen,MPLABissimilartomostWindowsprograms.Apartfromtheworkingarea,therearemenus(containsoptions:File,Editetc.),
toolbars(containsdifferenticons)andastatusbaratthebottomofthewindow.SimilartoWindows,thereisaruletohaveshortcutsforthe
mostcommonlyusedprogramoptionscreatedinordertoeasilyaccessthemandspeedupoperationtherefore.Theseshortcutsareactually
iconsbelowthemenubar.Inotherwords,alloptionscontainedinthetoolbararecontainedinthemenutoo.
PROJECTMAKING
Followthesestepstoprepareprogramforloadingintothemicrocontroller:
Inordertomakeaproject,itisnecessarytoclicktheoption"PROJECT"andthen"PROJECTWIZARD".Awelcomewindowappears.
1. Makeaproject
2. Writeaprogramand
3. Compileit.
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Inourcase,itisPIC16F887microcontroller.
Attheend,theprojectisassignedanamewhichusuallyindicatesthepurposeandthecontentoftheprogrambeingwritten.Theproject
shouldbemovedtothedesiredfolder.ItisbestthatthefolderassociateswithPICmicrocontrollers(Seefigure).
DocumentscontainedintheprojectdonotalwaysneedtobewritteninMPLAB.Documentswrittenbysomeotherprogrammayalsobe
includedintheproject.Inthisexample,therearenosuchdocuments.JustclickNext.
ClickFINISHtocompletetheproject.Thewindowitselfcontainsprojectparameters.
WRITINGANEWPROGRAM
Whentheprojectiscreated,awindowshowninfigurebelowappears.
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Afterthe"Blink.asm"iscreatedandsaved,itshould
beincludedintheprojectbyrightclickonthe"Source
Files"optioninthe"Proba.mcw"window.Afterthat,a
smallwindowwithtwooptionsappears.Selectthefirst
one"AddFiles".
Thenextstepistowriteaprogram.OpenanewdocumentbyclickingFile>New.TextEditorinMPLABenvironmentappears.
SavethedocumentinthefolderD:\PICprojectsbyusingtheFile>SaveAscommandandnameit"Blink.asm"indicatingthatthisprogramis
tobeanexampleofportdiodeblinking.Obviouslyyoucanlocateyoufileswhereveryouwish,inwhicheverharddriveyouwish.Usinga
commondirectorytostoreallyourdifferentprojectsandsubdirectoriesinmakesgoodsense.
Example:
D:\PicProjects
LEDFlashProject
Allassociatedfiles
EventCountProject
Allassociatedfiles
LEDScanningProject
Allassociatedfiles
ClickonthatoptionopensanotherwindowcontainingthefolderPICalongwiththedocumentBlink.asm.Seefigurebelow.
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Click"Blink"toincludethedocumentBlink.asmintotheproject.
Programwritingexample
Theprogramwritingprocedurecannotstartuntilallpreviousoperationshavebeenperformed.Programwrittenbelowisasimpleillustrationof
projectmaking.
ProgramtosetportBpinstologicone(1).
Version:1.0Date:April25,2007MCU:PIC16F887Programmer:JohnSmith
*****Declarationandconfigurationofthemicrocontroller*****
PROCESSOR16f887
#include"p16f887.inc"
__CONFIG_CP_OFF&_WDT_OFF&_PWRTE_ON&_XT_OSC

*****Variabledeclaration*****
Cblock0x20FirstfreeRAMlocation
endcNovariables

*****Programmemorystructure*****
ORG0x00Resetvector
gotoMainAfterresetjumptothislocation

ORG0x04Interruptvector
gotoMainNointerruptroutine
MainStarttheprogram
bankselTRISBSelectbankcontainingTRISB
clrfTRISBPortBisconfiguredasoutput
bankselPORTBSelectbankcontainingPORTB
movlw0xffW=FF
movwfPORTBMoveWtoportB
LoopgotoLoopJumptolabelLoop
End
TheprogramshouldbewrittentotheBlink.asmwindoworcopiedfromdiscbymeansofoptionscopy/paste.Whencopied,theprogram
shouldbecompiledintoexecutableHEXformatbyusingoptionPROJECT>BUILDALL.Anewwindowappears.Thelastsentenceisthe
mostimportantbecauseittellsuswhethercompilinghassucceededornot.Clearly,BUILDSUCCEEDEDmessagemeansthatnoerror
occurredandcompilinghasbeensuccessfullydone.
Incaseanerroroccurs,itisnecessarytoclicktwiceonthemessagereferringtoitintheOutputwindow,whichautomaticallyswitchyouover
toassemblyprogram,directlytothelinewheretheerrorhasoccurred.
8/27/2014 Appendix A: Programming a Microcontroller - Book: PIC Microcontrollers
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Startsprogramexecutionatfullspeed.Inthisexample,thesimulatorexecutestheprogram
atfull(normal)speeduntilitishaltedbyclickingtheiconbelow.
Pausesprogramexecution.Programcancontinueexecutingstepbysteporatfullspeed
again.
Startsprogramexecutionatoptionalspeed.Thespeedofexecutionissetindialog
Debugger/Settings/Animation/RealtimeUpdates.
Startsstepbystepprogramexecution.Instructionsareexecutedoneafteranother.
Furthermore,clickingonthisiconenablesyoutostepintosubroutinesandmacros.
Thisiconhasthesamefunctionasthepreviousoneexceptithastheabilitytostepinto
subroutines.
Resetsmicrocontroller.Byclickingthisicon,theprogramcounterispositionedatthe
beginningoftheprogramandsimulationcanstart.
SIMULATOR
AsimulatorisapartofMPLABenvironmentwhichprovidesbetterinsightintotheoperationofthemicrocontroller.Generallyspeaking,a
simulationisanattempttomodelareallifeorhypotheticalsituationsothatitcanbestudiedtoseehowthesystemworks.Bymeansofthe
simulator,itisalsopossibletomonitorcurrentvaluesofvariables,registersandportpinsstatesaswell.Tobehonest,asimulatorisnotofthe
sameimportanceforallprograms.Ifaprogramissimpler(asinourexample),thesimulationisnotofgreatimportancebecausesettingportB
pinstologicone(1)isnotcomplicatedatall.However,inmorecomplexprogramscontainingtimers,differentconditionsandrequests
(especiallymathematicaloperations),thesimulatormaybeofgreatuse.Asthenameitselfindicates,asimulationmeanstosimulatethe
operationofmicrocontroller.Likethemicrocontroller,asimulatorexecutesinstructionsoneafteranother(linebyline)andconstantlyupdates
thestateofallregisters.Inthisway,theusersimplymonitorsprogramexecution.Attheendofprogramwriting,theusershouldfirsttestitin
thesimulatorpriortoexecutingitinarealenvironment.Unfortunately,thisisoneofmanygoodthingsbeingoverlookedbytheprogrammer
becauseofitscharacterassuchandthelackofhighqualitysimulatorsaswell.
SimulatorisactivatedbyclickingonDEBUGGER>SELECTTOOL>MPLABSIM,asshowninfigure.Asaresult,severaliconsrelatedto
thesimulatoronlyappear.Theirmeaningsareasfollows:
8/27/2014 Appendix A: Programming a Microcontroller - Book: PIC Microcontrollers
http://www.mikroe.com/chapters/view/11/appendix-a-programming-a-microcontroller/ 16/17
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Similartorealenvironment,thefirstthingthatshouldbedoneistoresetthemicrocontrollerusingtheoptionDEBUGGER>RESETorby
clickingreseticon.Astheconsequenceofthis,agreenlineispositionedatthebeginningoftheprogramandprogramcounterPCLiscleared
tozero.RefertothewindowSpecialFunctionRegistersshownbelow.
ApartfromSFRs,itisgoodtohaveaninsightinFileRegisters.AwindowcontainingthemappearsbyclickingtheVIEW>FILEREGISTERS
option.
Iftheprogramcontainsvariables,itisgoodtomonitortheirvaluesaswell.Eachvariableisassignedawindow(WatchWindows)byclicking
VIEW>WATCHoption.
Iftheprogramcontainsvariables,itisgoodtomonitortheirvaluesaswell.Eachvariableisassignedawindow(WatchWindows)byclicking
VIEW>WATCHoption.
Afterallvariablesandregistersofinterestbecomeavailableonthesimulatorworkingarea,theprocessofsimulationcanstart.Thenext
instructionmaybeeitherStepintoorStepoverdependingonwhetheryouwanttostepintosubroutineornot.Thesameinstructionsmaybe
setbyusingkeyboardpushbuttons<F7>or<F8>(generally,allimportantinstructionshavethecorrespondingpushbuttonsonthe
keyboard).
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8/27/2014 Appendix A: Programming a Microcontroller - Book: PIC Microcontrollers
http://www.mikroe.com/chapters/view/11/appendix-a-programming-a-microcontroller/ 17/17
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