Best Microchip Programmer These Days

trebla

Joined Jun 29, 2019
599
Now i also like to use the little older chips too, like the 12F675 chip. I used assembler for many projects and dont want to simply throw all that away. It's kind of nutty that MPLAB X does not have an assembler option. That's the problem with big companies, they dont use what they manufacture.

So this makes me wonder, can i install MPLAB X on my computer and still have the regular MPLAB 7 or 8 installed on my same computer?
The PIC12F675 is supported within MPLAB X and PICkit3.

You can keep MPLAB and MPLAB X both on the same PC without any problems. I have MPLAB 8.90 and MPLAB X 4.20 on my "old project support PC". I have seen problems if you keep different versions of MPLAB X on the same PC, sometimes after quitting MPLAB X IDE it starts again and again until you kill it with task manager. But MPLAB and MPLAB X can used on the same PC without any problems.

As people are written above, the MPLAB X 5.35 can support MPASM, you can download it from MPLAB ecosystem download archive here.
 

Thread Starter

MrAl

Joined Jun 17, 2014
13,704
The PIC12F675 is supported within MPLAB X and PICkit3.

You can keep MPLAB and MPLAB X both on the same PC without any problems. I have MPLAB 8.90 and MPLAB X 4.20 on my "old project support PC". I have seen problems if you keep different versions of MPLAB X on the same PC, sometimes after quitting MPLAB X IDE it starts again and again until you kill it with task manager. But MPLAB and MPLAB X can used on the same PC without any problems.

As people are written above, the MPLAB X 5.35 can support MPASM, you can download it from MPLAB ecosystem download archive here.

Hi,

It looks like there are several versions of MPASM, so which one would work best?
Note that i am using a version "5.11" in MPLAB7 right now but will most likely upgrade to the latest version 8.92 at some point.
If i found the right place to download, i could only find "ASM30" version 3.31 and not even sure if that one is right or even if i was in the right section as that link links to a TON of different downloads.
Do you happen to have a version number that should be downloaded?

Thanks.
 

trebla

Joined Jun 29, 2019
599
If i found the right place to download, i could only find "ASM30" version 3.31 and not even sure if that one is right or even if i was in the right section as that link links to a TON of different downloads.
Do you happen to have a version number that should be downloaded?
The right version of the MPASM.EXE is usually included with MPLAB X install, so you don't have download it separately.
ASM30 is for 16-bit devices and is included in 16-bit C download also.
 

Thread Starter

MrAl

Joined Jun 17, 2014
13,704
The right version of the MPASM.EXE is usually included with MPLAB X install, so you don't have download it separately.
ASM30 is for 16-bit devices and is included in 16-bit C download also.
Hi,

Oh that's good news, thanks.
 

MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
30,658
Hi,

If i started using X would i still need 8.92 ?
I principally program in assembly so v8.92 is my first go-to if the pic is supported, There are not that many (any?) features for de-bugging in the X v5.35. when using assy.
Not that I have found, anyway.
 

LesJones

Joined Jan 8, 2017
4,511
I've just found out that I can program a PIC16F18446 using a PICKIT3 and PICKIT minus software. It looks very similar to the original PICKIT3 software.

Les.
 

Thread Starter

MrAl

Joined Jun 17, 2014
13,704
No you don't need install MPLAB 8.92 before MPLAB X. It is even better if you install first MPLAB X and XC8 and then old MPLAB.
Hi,

Ok i guess ill have to try them both. Right now im still in the dark ages with MPLAB7 which, if you ever used that and remember, it wont even allow build paths that have more than 62 characters in the path. That's kind of nutty for the age where that came out as there were very long file paths back then already.
Reminds me of one of the versions of MicroCap, a circuit analysis tool, that would save all the circuit files in upper case only. Very strange in the age of long file paths too.

Thanks for the info.
 

Thread Starter

MrAl

Joined Jun 17, 2014
13,704
I principally program in assembly so v8.92 is my first go-to if the pic is supported, There are not that many (any?) features for de-bugging in the X v5.35. when using assy.
Not that I have found, anyway.
Hi,

Did you happen to know if you can use breakpoints under X and also can you view the file registers as you single step though the asm code?
Those two features are the ones i really have to have. There are a few others too, such as step over and step out, which i probably can not do without.
 

MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
30,658
Did you happen to know if you can use breakpoints under X and also can you view the file registers as you single step though the asm code?
Those two features are the ones i really have to have. There are a few others too, such as step over and step out, which i probably can not do without.
I just posted my beef in this https://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/threads/code-conversion-c-to-assembly.192143/page-3
Post #46.
I haven't detected a way to do it in V5.35 as of yet! o_O
What I have had to resort to is program the Pic and watch the results on a test jig, Pain in the Butt.
 

trebla

Joined Jun 29, 2019
599
Did you happen to know if you can use breakpoints under X and also can you view the file registers as you single step though the asm code?
Those two features are the ones i really have to have. There are a few others too, such as step over and step out, which i probably can not do without
I recommend to read MPLAB X users guide chapter 3 tutorial, there is all the basic described.
 

trebla

Joined Jun 29, 2019
599
It uses Java? That bites.
Is it slow to load and/or use?
It is based on Netbeans and uses Java. It starts slowly but after it is up and running then i have no complaints about speed. I even have a old Thinkpad T400 (4 GB RAM, SSD 480 GB) with MPLAB X 5.45 installed and it takes couple of minutes to start (it checks some data from Microchip server about libraries update). But it is remarkably faster than STM CubeIDE or Atmel STUDIO 7 on my newer PC. New IDEs are resource-hungry, i suggest a PC with at least 8GB RAM and fast SSD.
 
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