Xc.h is the top-level file you include in your application. Include/ contains header files for each chip, as well as various libraries. Now you not only have the xc8 compiler available, you also have a whole bunch of documentation and device-specific header files in /Applications/microchip/xc8.ĭocs/ contains PDF documentation of the compiler and C used ( MPLAB_XC8_C_Compiler_User_Guide.pdf), as well as a bunch of HTML documents detailing the config options available to each different chip. If you’re using a non-bash shell you’ll have to add Applications/microchip/xc8/v1.30/bin to your PATH. CompilerĪfter a long period of PIC compiler fragmentation, Microchip has released the XC8 compiler as the canonical C compiler for PIC, and there’s a free version.Īfter the download is complete, open the installer and follow through the installation process. If it has syntax highlighting for C, all the better. I like TextWrangler, so much so I am writing this article in it, but any code editor will do. $ xc8 main.c -outdir=build -chip=16F886Īny plain text or code editor will suffice for writing basic embedded C applications. Once you’re finished you’ll be able to write, compile, burn and run C programs on PICs via your pickit2 like this: $ edit main.c

You need three additional things: a text editor for writing C, a compiler for turning it into a hex executable and a utility to copy the compiled program onto the device, via the pickit2. Presumably you already have a pickit2, some board you can use to program PICs (I have a handy 28 pin demo board) and a computer.

Mplab xc8 compiler burn file to chip