Orthogonal Instruction Set

Enhanced Mid-Range PIC MCUs each have 49 instructions. Instructions directly accessing Data Memory addresses execute in one instruction cycle. Instructions which cause a change in the program counter (BRA, GOTO, RETURN, CALL, etc.) take two instruction cycles to execute.

By mapping the I/O and peripheral registers to memory addresses, PIC MCUs do not need special instructions for I/O operations or to set peripheral registers. Writing to an I/O port or configuring a peripheral is a simple write to a memory location. Reading the value of an input pin, ADC result register, or timer is a simple read of a memory location. By using a small number of orthogonal instructions Enhanced Mid-Range PIC MCUs are easy to program, use less silicon to build, and consume less power.

Examples of Instruction Implementation