Beginner's Guide to Programming the PIC32

Before reading this book I barely had any background with microcontrollers and I hated every class I took on them. I barely made through the those classes as it looks like instructors have hard time teaching them (I still got As but I simply used functions created by somebody else). However, the key of learning is having good sources of knowledge and a desire to learn. This book is definitely one of the greatest sources of information you can find out there. After taking a class on micro-controllers, I still didn't understand where the lab instructor was pulling his info out. This author starts with using SFRs only, which can be found in manual for the pic32mx250f128b controller. MAKE SURE YOU GET THEM FROM MICROCHIP WEBSITE BY SEARCHING THE PIC32MX250F128B on their website. The manual names will start with numbering and there'll be about 52 PDFs. Using this book with the manuals for the microcontroller really made everything clear. Buy this book, read each chapter and as you finish each chapter, read a manual on the topic. It is a must to read manual to understand where the SFRs come from and how each module (ADC, Input Capture, Output Capture and so on) works and should be configured. Also, this book does not have a chapter on Input Capture, but working out each chapter of this book will give you a required insight to figure out IC on your own. I took one star off because author jumps to micros later in the chapter and I would avoid using them if you really want to understand how to configure the device yourself even so it takes more code lines to accomplish. Also, using the parameters passed in the micros you can figure out what SFRs to use and what values to set them to. After reading this book, I went from I HATE MICROCONTROLLERS to I LOVE THIS STUFF LETS DO IT FOR FUN. I just purchased a few books on C to improve my coding knowledge. Also, google TUTORIALPOINT if you want to find good web reference for programming. You know what, F it, I'm giving this book 5 stars no matter what. This book is awesome and Mr. Kibalo rocks. It is obvious to me that the author cared to provide the information as clearly as possible.

Great starter book. As usual he wants you to buy his board however, for $48 I bread boarded the pic and used a pickit3. The programs still work.I guess at least the microstick board could be used as a programmer with MPLab but only for a couple PICs.Kibalo uses microchips MPLab which has debugging, help, step and unassembly. Its a real IDE. The PIC32MX250F128B is a great little chip that you can do a lot without breaking the bank and this book has a lot of info for beginners.This book is a GREAT choice!

Okay as a first book on processors, particularly if you wish to follow along with the hardware and development platforms presented. I was hoping for a fuller description on the PIC32 family as a whole, so it left me a little disappointed in that respect. Maybe my mistake for not reading the summary and reviews before hand.

This book is a good intro to programming the PIC32 on the Microstick II. If you follow along exactly, the author provides example code, wiring diagrams and step by step procedures. If your goal is to get a project working as soon as possible, this book is the way to go. The instructionsare very straightforward and practical for basic projects. However, the book does not cover any of the topics in particular depth. Just about every topic can be expanded upon. I used this book in conjunction with "Programming 32-bit Microcontrollers in C: Exploring the PIC32" which covers topics much more thoroughly. That said, Kibalo did a good job providing a resource which allows the reader to get their project working after reading only a few pages.

I am so disappointed.

Great