Well yes there are quite a few wires going to the actual socket to program the PIC, but there are more wires going to/from other components too. It's not an issue of figuring out which ones are necessary for programming the 877. Just in case you really really desire such info, you need:
Code:
Pin 1 = 13 or more volts to enter programming mode
Pin 30 = ground
Pin 31 = 5 volts
Pin 39 = clock pulse
Pin 40 = data
But it's not just an issue of connecting only those 5 lines and being done. You have to connect an adequate power supply, the parallel port connector, the transistors and resistors and everything else. When you've made 60+ wire connections (I havent actually counted joints), it seems rather silly to me to only want to make 5 more specifically for the 877 rather than all 15 to the programming socket. If the soldering iron is hot, why not?
The only things on there are some hex inverters (six inverters on a single chip), some voltage regulators (74L05, 74L08), capacitors, resistors, transistors, some LEDs, a power jack, power adapter, a bridge rectifier, the socket to insert the PIC, and of course the parallel port connector. You can probably get everything there on the list at Radio Shack, or order it online cheaper.
If you are having trouble figuring out how the lines work, it's like this: If two lines intersect, and there is a dot there, then that is a connection. You would solder those wires together. If lines cross each other but there is no dot there, then you do NOT connect them. Those wires will have nothing to do with each other on your actual board.
If you don't feel up to tackling a project like this with so many connections and parts, perhaps you would be more comfortable ordering a programmer already built, then you can learn about diagrams and connecting components on a smaller scale, just by connecting resistors and LEDs to your PIC and gradually advancing from there.