Hi,
Generally Demos are free or full version is free but time limited. we can't expect more than that. for e.g., PICsimide is free for 30 attempts and after that one has to pay for depending on whether home of commercial use. It has also similar facilities.

I hate limeted trial programs that stop working after a certain perioud of time of number of uses; they never fully uninstall properly, you alwayas have to delete some files of sift through the registry to completely remove them.

I mostly prefer free sofware (as in open source) anyway.

Originally Posted by mramos1

And with 50 lines of code And all the options you mention it has how can one try it? One part At a time maybe.

Just a reminder On that restriction, that’s 50 lines of Proton code, Not the .ASM Or .HEX it compiles it down too And it excludes REMARKS and labels, there’s a damn lot you can do with 50 lines in Proton(it may compile To any number of lines)

Code:

Device = 16F877A
XTAL = 4
ALL_DIGITAL = False
PORTB_PULLUPS = True

LCD_DTPIN = PORTB.4
LCD_RSPIN = PORTB.2
LCD_ENPIN = PORTB.3
LCD_INTERFACE = 4			' Setup the LCD
LCD_LINES = 2
LCD_TYPE = 0

Declare SCL_PIN PORTC.0
Declare SDA_PIN PORTC.1	

Dim Result As Float        ' Create a register accurate from  -2147483646.999 to +2147483646.999
Dim Sign As Byte
Dim Cnt As Byte
Dim Count_Per_Deg As Byte
Dim Temp As Word
Dim Temp_Dec As Byte
Symbol DQ=PORTD.1       'Place the DS1820 on bit 1 of PORTD
	
   DelayMS 150
   Cls
	
   Print At 2, 1, "Power is On"
	
   TRISA = %11111111 			
   ADCON1 = %10000000

Main:

    Result = ADIn 0

    EWrite 00, Result
    
    Print At 1,1, DEC2 Result * 5 / 1023, "V"
 
    BStart	  						  	 ' Send the start command on I2C
  	BusOut %10100010,$00,[Result]        ' Send the byte to the eeprom
    BStop								 ' Send the stop command on I2C


    OWrite DQ, 1,[$55,$10,$92,$1F,$05,$01,$08,$00,$6B,$44] 'Send calculate temperature command
	   	      ' FF  I1  I2  I3  I4  I5  I6 CRC	   ' FF - Family, Ix - Address byte, CRC - checksum
    Repeat
	  DelayMS 25 'Wait until conversion is compleate
	  ORead DQ,4,[Cnt] 'Keep reading low puses until
    Until Cnt <> 0 'the DS1820 is finished

    OWrite DQ,1,[$55,$10,$92,$1F,$05,$01,$08,$00,$6B,$BE] 'Send read scratcpad command
	   	      ' FF  I1  I2  I3  I4  I5  I6 CRC	   ' FF - Family, Ix - Address byte, CRC - checksum
    ORead DQ,2,[Temp.LowByte,Temp.HighByte,Cnt,Cnt,Cnt,Cnt,Cnt,Count_Per_Deg]

    Temp_Dec = (6.25 * Cnt)				 ' Each Cnt is 1/16 of a degree, therefor 100/16 = 6.25, and thats our decimal value

    If Temp.8=1 Then   	   				 ' Bits 8-15 are 1 for a negative temperature and 0 for a positive
        Temp=(Temp.LowByte ^ $FF) >> 1 	 ' If negative then drop the first bit, and invert the value
        If Cnt = 0 Then Temp = Temp + 1	 ' If Cnt = 0 then increment Temp, as the 1820 does not do this
        Sign = "-" 	   		  	   	 	 ' Change the sign to a negative
    Else
	   Temp=(Temp >> 1)					 ' If positive then drop the first byte
        Temp_Dec = 100 - Temp_Dec	
        Sign = "+" 	  					 ' And change the sign value to positive
    EndIf

    Print At 1,6, Sign, Dec2 Temp, ".", Dec1 Dig Temp_Dec, 1, " DegC  "
    
    GoTo Main

The program above is;
- Taking an ADC sample from porta.0
- Storing it in the PICs EEPROM
- Displaying it on a LCD
- Sending it via I2C to an external EEPROM to store
- Requesting data from a DS18S20 using Dallas 1 Wire
- Receiving the 1 Wire data
- Displaying the current temperature on the LCD
- Performing all of the above in a continual loop

Some of the remarks are jaggerd, but im sure you get the jist

Originally Posted by mramos1

MikroBASIC does all that for me for simple projects. OK for all of them so far.

If I need to buy other peoples stuff in the price, I guess I am still out. That is not right.. I will not by a PC that has to come loaded with Windows unless I need Windows.

imho using asm is like using dos - there’s no need to "re-invent' the wheel when you can accurately and efficiently, yes proton is very efficient, use a higher level development suit. Would you ditch Visual Basic/C++ and start writing in assembler/hex on your PC?

Do you work for them or have buddies there and just really like the product that much??

I really wish I did!! But no. I'm just trying to share with as many people as I can about how great the development tool is.

If I make Unix machines I do not need Windows. If I want a BASIC compiler, I to not need Proteus/Simulator.

Its just one of the perks of buying proton+, it’s a tool - a great tool, but to buy the full version is a lot of coin. With Proteus you can throw in hundreds of digital/analogue components simulate & debug the circuit in minutes, once again, its about where your at, try it, buy it, or just not even use it at all – your choice.

And your comments on .ASM. I get it. I will use the demo and write the subs in .ASM format since they do not count in the 50 lines. And some of the main in .ASM format to save lines.

Wont work. You misinterpreted me. Proton may compile the basic file to 200 lines in .ASM - then it compiles it to .HEX - its 50 Proton+ Lines(without remarks/labels)

Proton is good but you have to buy a simulator that adds a lot to the price. I do not need that part.

Negative. Protues is NOT a full version with the Proton+ development suit - you are paying for a leading edge PIC programming development suit, not the license of Protues. Its more of a 'basic debugger' in its PDS release, and allows you to only interface with certain components, still extremely useful! I used to use the virtual terminal & lcd components to debug program all the time before putting them into real life apps.

So it looks like I need MPLABS at this point if I use the .ASM. so much (Nigel is laughing again). And need to find someone that will share some good macros.

I completely respect Nigel's passion for assembly; I too used to be there. But ASM is not for everyone, and with the growing diversity of PIC micros, and other products on the market (GSM/GPS/XBEE/heaps), there is a growing need for higher level programming

gramo:

I personally use PowerBASIC and x86 ASM. So I would not ditch either. But on a Windows machine, PowerBASIC makes life very simple.

As for a PIC with say 35 instructions. It is really not all that bad.

I will stick to my way as it works. But look harder at ASM. Maybe like the old days, write it in BASIC lines with ; in front each line and drop the ASM between.

Almost $300 for a BASIC compiler, I thought PowerBASICs price was high.