Editing PIC microcontrollers (section)

{{Short description|Line of single-chip microprocessors from Microchip Technology}}
{{distinguish|text=[[programmable interrupt controller]]s, also known as PICs}}
{{distinguish|Photonic integrated circuit{{!}}Photonic integrated circuits}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2019}}
[[File:PIC microcontrollers.jpg|thumb|PIC microcontrollers in [[Dual in-line package|DIP]] and [[QFN]] packages]]
[[File:Microchip PIC24HJ32GP202.jpg|thumb|16-bit 28-pin PDIP PIC24 microcontroller next to a metric ruler]]
[[File:PIC12C508-HD.jpg|thumb|[[Die (integrated circuit)|Die]] of a PIC12C508 8-bit, fully static, [[EEPROM]]/[[EPROM]]/[[Mask ROM|ROM]]-based [[CMOS]] [[microcontroller]] manufactured by [[Microchip Technology]] using a 1200 [[nanometre]] process]]
[[File:PIC16C505-HD.jpg|thumb|[[Die (integrated circuit)|Die]] of a PIC16C505 [[CMOS]] [[read-only memory|ROM]]-based 8-bit [[microcontroller]] manufactured by [[Microchip Technology]] using a 1200 [[nanometre]] process]]

'''PIC''' (usually pronounced as /pɪk/) is a family of [[microcontroller]]s made by [[Microchip Technology]], derived from the PIC1640<ref>{{Cite tech report |url=http://www.datasheetarchive.com/dl/Databooks-1/Book241-407.pdf |title=PIC1650A 8 Bit Microcomputer |type=Datasheet |publisher=General Instrument Corp. |access-date=2011-06-29 |archive-date=2012-03-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323091431/http://www.datasheetarchive.com/dl/Databooks-1/Book241-407.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="PICmicrofamilytree">{{cite web |url=http://www.microchip.com.tw/PDF/2004_spring/PIC16F%20seminar%20presentation.pdf#page=4 |title=PIC16F seminar presentation: History of the Baseline family of Products |access-date=2011-08-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302212910/http://www.microchip.com.tw/PDF/2004_spring/PIC16F%20seminar%20presentation.pdf#page=4 |archive-date=2012-03-02 |page=4 }}</ref> originally developed by [[General Instrument]]'s Microelectronics Division. The name PIC initially referred to ''Peripheral Interface Controller'',<ref name="1976databook">"MOS DATA 1976", General Instrument 1976 Databook</ref> and was subsequently expanded for a short time to include ''Programmable Intelligent Computer'',<ref name="1977catalog">{{cite web |url=http://www.rhoent.com/pic16xx.pdf |title=1977 Data Catalog: Microelectronics |publisher=General Instrument Corporation |access-date=2011-08-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815133819/http://www.rhoent.com/pic16xx.pdf |archive-date=2011-08-15 }}</ref> though the name PIC is no longer used as an acronym for any term.  
The first parts of the family were available in 1976; by 2013 the company had shipped more than twelve billion individual parts, used in a wide variety of [[embedded system]]s.<ref name="12bil" />

The PIC was originally designed as a peripheral for the [[General Instrument CP1600]], the first commercially available single-chip [[16-bit computing|16-bit]] [[microprocessor]]. To limit the number of pins required, the CP1600 had a complex highly-[[Multiplexed bus#Bus multiplexing|multiplexed bus]] which was difficult to interface with, so in addition to a variety of special-purpose peripherals, General Instrument made the programmable PIC1640 as an all-purpose peripheral. With its own small [[random access memory|RAM]], [[read-only memory|ROM]] and a simple CPU for controlling the transfers, it could connect the CP1600 bus to virtually any existing 8-bit peripheral. While this offered considerable power, GI's marketing was limited and the CP1600 was not a success. However, GI had also made the PIC1650, a standalone PIC1640 with additional general-purpose I/O in place of the CP1600 interface. When the company spun off their chip division to form Microchip in 1985, sales of the CP1600 were all but dead, but the PIC1650 and successors had formed a major market of their own, and they became one of the new company's primary products.<ref name=Leibson2023/>

Early models only had [[Read-only memory#Factory-programmed|mask ROM]] for code storage, but with its spinoff it was soon upgraded to use [[EPROM]] and then [[EEPROM]], which made it possible for end-users to program the devices in their own facilities. All current models use [[flash memory]] for program storage, and newer models allow the PIC to reprogram itself. Since then the line has seen significant change; memory is now available in 8-bit, 16-bit, and, in latest models, 32-bit wide. Program instructions vary in bit-count by family of PIC, and may be 12, 14, 16, or 24 bits long. The instruction set also varies by model, with more powerful chips adding instructions for [[digital signal processing]] functions. The hardware implementations of PIC devices range from 6-pin [[Surface-mount technology|SMD]], 8-pin [[Dual in-line package|DIP]] chips up to 144-pin SMD chips, with discrete I/O pins, [[Analog-to-digital converter|ADC]] and [[Digital-to-analog converter|DAC]] modules, and communications ports such as [[UART]], [[I2C]], [[CAN bus|CAN]], and even [[USB]]. Low-power and high-speed variations exist for many types.

The manufacturer supplies computer software for development known as [[MPLAB|MPLAB X]], assemblers and C/C++ compilers, and programmer/debugger hardware under the [[MPLAB devices|MPLAB]] and [[PICKit]] series. Third party and some open-source tools are also available. Some parts have in-circuit programming capability; low-cost development programmers are available as well as high-volume production programmers.

PIC devices are popular with both industrial developers and hobbyists due to their low cost, wide availability, large user base, an extensive collection of application notes, availability of low cost or free development tools, serial programming, and re-programmable flash-memory capability.