I am interested in PiCs but dont know much about them

[cubdh23]

Iv never used Pics but seeing how popular they are id like to get an idea or how to choose one. Which one is the most popular one. Most bang for the buck.
Do pics have capability to record pulses? like input capture and output compare.
Do pics have ATD converters or can we attach one on?
Does it have keywakeup?
serial communication?
what else can it do?
i use the motorola 6812 and i realize im probably the only person using that overpriced and not popular device. So any info about pics would be appreciated. I try searching and i see tons of sites on differnt types and its kinda confusing. maybe u can give me good site to learn more about them

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Iv never used Pics but seeing how popular they are id like to get an idea or how to choose one. Which one is the most popular one. Most bang for the buck.
Do pics have capability to record pulses? like input capture and output compare.
Do pics have ATD converters or can we attach one on?
Does it have keywakeup?
serial communication?
what else can it do?

They are extremely versatile, a good starting chip is the 16F628, and is the one used for most of my tutorials, that would probably be a good place to have a look at. It has the advantage of requiring almost no external components, it even has an internal clock oscillator.

The 16F628 doesn't include analogue to digital converters, but plenty of other ones do - again, my tutorials cover some of them.

 

[Oznog]

Yes to all of the above.

The question is, what CAN'T it do? Most chips on the market for doing various peripheral functions- precision A/D conversion, D/A, graphics LCD controllers, RS232 serial comm, EEPROM, sound recording- are within the PIC's capabilities to control.

There are some with protocol specs which the PIC can't do as far as speed or memory considerations.