tsop1238 and 16f877a

hello everyone.this is quite new for me and im really a beginner here and looking forward towards the pros for helping me out a bit.
im basically developing a v simple project for just motor on/off on an IR signal.im using pic16f877a and IR sensor tsop1238.
but i cant get the hang of the code which i have to write in pic.i want to use the simple if/else statements e.g
if(signal)
output_high(pin_watever);
but the problem is i have to keep it high until the next signal comes and i have to make the pin low as well on the next signal and make it low!plz can anyone help me wid this???