I was searching for a graphical tool to work with Snap Circuits when I found the Real Pic Simulator. This simulator is awesome in my opinion. It cost $29 for the full non-commercial version and to me, it was worth it. 

The simulator works with the .hex file created by the compiler of your choice and then allows you to run it on simulated electronic components. There are LEDs, switches, potentiometers, LCDs and more. Amazingly it also includes a graphic LCD based on the KS0108 chip. I created a Great Cow Basic project for that recently and had a hard time getting everything working correctly but after several hours had it working. I loaded that same .hex file in Real Pic Simulator and tested it on the graphic LCD and it displayed perfectly. I wish I had this before.

The .hex file is disassembled back into PIC assembly code so you can watch the code run during the simulation. You can set break points and then step through the assembly commands. You can split screen and have the assembly code on one side and the hardware simulation on the other. 

The GUI objects also includes an oscilloscope object which is more like a logic analyzer. There is also a function generator but I haven't tried that out yet so I'm not sure exactly how well that works.

Bottom line is, this tool works great with any PIC development package to give you a quick way to test typical circuitry blocks with code.

Check it out at:
http://digitalelectrosoft.com/pic-simulator

I've wanted to get a graphic LCD working for a long time but never could find the time to read through all the data sheet info and then develop the code. It was a great surprise when I found that the Great Cow Basic compiler had built in support. Problem is the documentation was missing. So I sorted through the header file and was able to get a KS0108 128x64 LCD to work directly with a CHIPINO mini module.

The commands are structured so that ASCII characters don't start displaying until 15 decimal. So I created a looping program that displayed the decimal number for the ASCII character and then drew a box that contained the ASCII character so I could verify the capability.

The Great Cow Basic compiler has commands to draw ASCII phrases and individual characters. It can also draw lines both horizontal and vertical and also an open or filled box.

More detail can be found at the greatcowbasic.com sample programs page.

I bought one of these matrix shield kits on ebay. I had to search a little for the assembly instructions and schematic which were not included but after getting all that sorted out I was able to make a sample program to display ASCII characters using a CHIPINO module and Great Cow Basic.

The project can be downloaded from the GreatCowBasic.com website under the Sample Projects section. It's a start and I hope to create more in the future. 

Getting the correct orientation and pixel settings was a bit difficult but to help create the characters I used one of the many character creator applications on the web.
Here are a few of the best ones I found:
Pattern Library
LCD Creator
Character Calculator

In my Beginner's Guide to Embedded C Programming book series I used what was the latest IDE (MPLAB) and C Compiler (HI-TECH) available at the time I wrote the books. I liked how the MPLAB installation included the HI-TECH compiler in the installation setup. By installing just one package, both would get installed. This was great for a beginner to reduce confusion. But that's not the case with all MPLAB installation levels anymore. After a certain level you have to install them separately. 

Now both MPLAB and HI-TECH have been replaced by the MPLABX IDE and the XC8 compiler but that doesn't mean you can't use the MPLAB and HI-TECH to learn C programming. They still work just fine. They just don't support any new components that may be released in the coming years.  At some point I plan to update the books but there are many schools using my books to teach C programming. So here is a link to the archive where you can still download the MPLAB/HI-TECH combination installation files. 

MPLAB Archive

Here is a summary of which level of compiler installs with the various MPLAB levels:

Any later versions requires you to install the HI-TECH compiler separately.

Did you know that you can get free samples of Microchip PIC Microcontrollers?
Go to www.microchip.com/samples

You will have to login so create a login account and then enter the site. From there you can select the family of parts you want to choose from and then the specific part you want.

Find the package type you need, in this case I've selected the PIC16F886 - I/SP which is the DIP package part used in the CHIPINO module. Then click on the little grey sample box to the left to load the part in your checkout basket. 

You can click on that up to three times to get three samples of one part number and you are allowed to get two different part numbers in one sample order. I believe you are limited to 6 total samples per month but for a hobbyist, this can be a monthly way to stock up your lab.

When you are done selecting your samples, you step through the check out process. Enter your shipping address and then complete the final order submission. In most cases they are shipped out for free.
It's Microchip's way of letting you learn and test your design with their parts. 

I updated several pages on the site including links and references to the new website I launched that is separate from this site titled Great Cow Basic CHIPINO. It's become clear that many beginners think the only open source starting point is Arduino so I teamed up with the Howtronics.com guys and released the GreatCowBasic.com website that shows how to use the open source CHIPINO module and the open source Great Cow Basic Compiler. 

We've been using that compiler for a long time but the documentation just needed help so the intent is to contribute to the community with helpful information and sample code. I'll post more on this site as I develop projects using that setup. I'm sure you see a few blog posts here in the future using the Great Cow Basic CHIPINO. 

We're also launching a marketing campaign at Maker Faire Detroit to get more people aware of how much fun it can be to program in BASIC rather than C

I updated the Build Your Own PICkit 2 programmer page with a little more information. I'll be uploading the files at some point and hopefully a kit of parts in the future. Right now I'm just adding all the information I have on the topics listed. I have so much stuff scattered around on various flash drives and hard drive folders that this site is really helping me organize all the work I've been doing for the last 15 years.
I hope you find it as handy I as I do.