The PICBASIC PRO™ files are compressed into a self-extracting file on the diskette. They must be uncompressed to your hard drive before use. This can be done for DOS or Windows. To uncompress the files from DOS, create a subdirectory on your hard drive called PBP or another name of your choosing by typing:

where xxx is the version number of the compiler on the disk. Don=t forget the -d option on the end of the command. This ensures that the proper subdirectories within PBP are created.

Make sure that FILES and BUFFERS are set to at least 50 in your CONFIG.SYS file. Depending on how many FILES and BUFFERS are already in use by your system, allocating an even larger number may be necessary.

To install PICBASIC PRO™ from Windows, run A:\INSTALL.BAT from the Run box in the Windows Start menu.

See the README.TXT file on the diskette for more information on uncompressing the files. Also read the READ.ME file that is uncompressed to the PBP subdirectory on your hard drive for the latest PICBASIC PRO™ Compiler information.

For operation of the PICBASIC PRO™ Compiler you=ll need a text editor or word processor for creation of your program source file, some sort of PICmicro programmer such as our EPIC Plus Pocket PICmicro Programmer, and the PICBASIC PRO™ Compiler itself. Of course you also need a PC to run it all on.

First create the BASIC source file for the program using your favorite text editor or word processor. If you don=t have a favorite, DOS EDIT (included with MS-DOS) or Windows NOTEPAD (included with Windows and Windows95/98) may be substituted. The source file name should (but isn=t required to) end with the extension .BAS.

The following program provides a good first test of a PICmicro in the real world. You may type it in or you can simply copy it from the SAMPLES subdirectory included with the PICBASIC PRO™ Compiler. The file is named BLINK.BAS. The BASIC source file should be created in or moved to the same directory where the PBP.EXE file is located.

' Example program to blink an LED connected to PORTB.0 about once a second

loop:	High PORTB.0	' Turn on LED
	Pause 500		' Delay for .5 seconds

	Low PORTB.0	' Turn off LED
	Pause 500		' Delay for .5 seconds

	Goto loop		' Go back to loop and blink LED forever
	End

Once you are satisfied that the program you have written will work flawlessly, you can execute the PICBASIC PRO™ Compiler by entering PBP followed by the name of your text file at a DOS prompt. For example, if the text file you created is named BLINK.BAS, at the DOS command prompt enter:

The compiler will display an initialization (copyright) message and process your file. If it likes your file, it will create an assembler source code file (in this case named BLINK.ASM) and automatically invoke its assembler to complete the task. If all goes well, the final PICmicro code file will be created (in this case, BLINK.HEX). If you have made the compiler unhappy, it will issue a string of errors that will need to be corrected in your BASIC source file before you try compilation again.

If you don=t tell it otherwise, the PICBASIC PRO™ Compiler defaults to creating code for the PIC16F84. To compile code for PICmicros other than the >F84, simply use the -P command line option described later in the manual to specify a different target processor. For example, if you intend to run the above program, BLINK.BAS, on a PIC16F877, compile it using the command:

The PICBASIC PRO™ Compiler generates standard 8-bit Merged Intel HEX (.HEX) files that may be used with any PICmicro programmer including our EPIC Plus Pocket PICmicro Programmer. PICmicros cannot be programmed with BASIC Stamp programming cables.

Plug the AC adapter into the wall and then into the EPIC Programmer (or attach 2 fresh 9-volt batteries to the programmer and connect the ABatt ON@ jumper.  Using an AC adapter instead of batteries is highly recommended.)

Once the programming screen is displayed, use the mouse to click on Open file or press Alt-O on your keyboard. Use the mouse (or keyboard) to select BLINK.HEX or any other file you would like to program into the PICmicro from the dialog box.

The sample schematic below gives you an idea of the few things that need to be connected to the PICmicro to make it work. Basically all you need is a pull-up resistor on the /MCLR line, a 4MHz crystal with 2 capacitors, and some kind of 5-volt power supply. We have added an LED and resistor to provide the output from the BLINK program.