Decline of PicBasic ?

[HenrikOlsson]

Jim,

Started into electronics and PICS about 2 years ago and found the only way I could get going was with MicroCode Studio Plus vers 5 with PBPX3 compiler which doesn't seem like PicBasic to me.

Can you elaborate on that last bit? What are you referring to with the term PicBasic?

The "problem" (no, its' not actually a problem) is that there are several BASIC compilers targeting the PIC microcontroller families. Most of the have the words BASIC and PIC in them and although they're all more or less based on the original BASIC language they are not the same.


Dwight,

I have often wondered why MElabs doesn't take a more active interest in this forum (possibly they do and I just don't realize it)
I know Darrell (RIP) was here often.
I have been over to the MElabs forum a few times but always find that the support and knowledge base here dwarfs what they have over there.

As far as I know there's no one from MeLabs here, Charles (from MeLabs) is on their official forum but if you think this forum is quiet you should look at that one, not a single post for weeks now.

As of what will happen with PBP that was "discussed" on their forum a little while back. Basically they (Charles) said that IF they were to do a new compiler for 16bit PICs it would come at a cost ($600-$1000) that no one participating in THAT discussion seemed willing to pay.

And if I were to read between the lines the current PBP for 8-bit PICs is what it is. There will be bug fixes (there was a new version issued a couple of weeks back) and new devices added but apart from that nothing will happen - but that's MY interpretation. So we'll just have to wait and see, there was just an update issued so it's not dead yet and I'd REALLY hate to see it go because it's the only programming language for PIC that I know how to use, sadly enough.

/Henrik.

EDIT: Here's the thread on MeLabs forum, if you want read it.

[mark_s]

Some good points above.

I follow a lot different interest and hobbies and have noticed in general, forum activity seems way down across the board. With well over ten years of solid internet access, most of the information and ideas are published. With google you can find most any info in minutes. So why ask questions on a forum and chance seeming stupid or lazy.

I don't think PBP is finished, but not going to advance at this point. It will be maintained as long as Microchip produces the 8 bit family and the ME founders don't retire. It would be a monumental task to catch up - pic24, dspic30, dspic33, and pic32 etc. Plus the new generation of techies want everything for free so it's not a good business plan. I use Mikroe complilers also and it seems they are stalled. Slow updates, unfixed bugs, they push hardware products now for the most part. Proton Basic came out with 16bit compiler a few years back, you don't hear much about that? Arduino/open source and chip makers with free dev tools are killing the old names. Once you learn C you can buy any 8 to 32bit platform for cheap, use the free compiler, free libraries, no programmer or power supply nessesary, just a usb cable. Hard to compete!