4.4 Adopting a development environment <br />4.4.1 Introducing MPLAB <br />MPLAB is an IDE that can be downloaded free from Microchip’s web site [Ref. 1.2]. There <br />is also a copy on the book’s companion website. It contains all the software tools necessary <br />to write a program in Assembler, assemble it, simulate it, and then download it to a pro- <br />grammer. The latter must be built, bought or designed into the target system. Further <br />software tools can be bought and then integrated with MPLAB, both from Microchip and <br />from other suppliers. This includes alternatives to what MPLAB already offers – e.g. as- <br />semblers or simulators, as well as tools which offer much greater development power, like <br />C compilers or emulator drivers. <br />MPLAB is a continuously evolving package, with its own manuals [Refs. 4.1 and 4.2] and <br />online help facility. Therefore this book does not aim to act as a full MPLAB manual. It <br />will, however, aim to give a clear introduction to its use so that you can begin to apply it <br />with confidence. Screen images from MPLAB Version 8.10 are used in this chapter and <br />the next.
