Overview

There are several C compilers on the market for the PIC18 series of microcontrollers. These compilers have many similar features, and they can all be used to develop C-based high-level programs for PIC18 microcontrollers.

Some of the C compilers used most often in commercial, industrial, and educational PIC18 microcontroller applications are:

• mikroC

• PICC18

• C18

• CCS

The popular and powerful mikroC, developed by MikroElektronika (web site: www.microe.com), is easy to learn and comes with rich resources, such as a large number of library functions and an integrated development environment with a built-in simulator and an in-circuit debugger (e.g., mikroICD). A demo version of the compiler with a 2K program limit is available from MikroElektronika.

PICC18, another popular C compiler, was developed by Hi-Tech Software (web site: www.htsoft.com) and is available in two versions: standard and professional. A powerful simulator and an integrated development environment (Hi-Tide) are provided by the company. PICC18 is supported by the PROTEUS simulator (www.labcenter.co.uk) which can be used to simulate PIC microcontroller based systems. A limited-period demo version of this compiler is available on the developer's web site.

C18 is a product of Microchip Inc. (web site: www.microchip.com). A limited-period demo version, as well as a limited functionality version of C18 with no time limit, are available from the Microchip web site. C18 includes a simulator and supports hardware and software development tools such as in-circuit emulators (e.g., ICE2000) and in-circuit debuggers (e.g., ICD2).

CCS has been developed by the Custom Computer Systems Inc. (web site: www.ccsinfo.com).