There are several C compilers on the market for the PIC18 series of microcontrollers. These compilers have many similar features, and they can all be used to develop C- based high-level programs for PIC18 microcontrollers.
Some of the C compilers used most often in commercial, industrial, and educational PIC18 microcontroller applications are:
• mikroC
• PICC18
• C18
• CCS
The popular and powerful mikroC, developed by MikroElektronika (web site: www.microe.com), is easy to learn and comes with rich resources, such as a large number of library functions and an integrated development environment with a built-in simulator and an in-circuit debugger (e.g., mikroICD). A demo version of the compiler with a 2K program limit is available from MikroElektronika.
PICC18, another popular C compiler, was developed by Hi-Tech Software (web site: www.htsoft.com) and is available in two versions: standard and professional.
A powerful simulator and an integrated development environment (Hi-Tide) are provided by the company. PICC18 is supported by the PROTEUS simulator (www.labcenter.co.uk) which can be used to simulate PIC microcontroller–based systems. A limited-period demo version of this compiler is available on the developer’s web site.
C18 is a product of Microchip Inc. (web site: www.microchip.com). A limited-period demo version, as well as a limited functionality version of C18 with no time limit, are available from the Microchip web site. C18 includes a simulator and supports hardware and software development tools such as in-circuit emulators (e.g., ICE2000) and in-circuit debuggers (e.g., ICD2).
CCS has been developed by the Custom Computer Systems Inc. (web site: www. ccsinfo.com). The company offers a limited-period demo version of their compiler. CCS provides a large number of built-in functions and supports an in-circuit debugger (e.g., ICD-U40) which are very helpful in the development of PIC18 microcontroller– based systems.
In this book we are mainly concentrating on the use of the mikroC compiler, and most of the projects are based on this compiler.