The progress

Today we have managed to create an interface between PC and Pic! Using a program known has Hyperterminal, we have a program that can, with the push of a button from the keyboard, have the pic read it, and output back to the user that a button was pushed. With this code, we have modified it so that it will, by pressing the L or R keys, change the direction of a stepper motor either clockwise or counter-clockwise. Theoretically the code will work as programmed, but because the lab closed, we were unable to test it with the in-lab waveform generator. That will have to wait until tomorrow.

We are deciding upon whether to use a dummy loop to act as our delay function, or an Pic interrupt. The delay function, though easier to implement, has the potential to lose a few instructions in the delay time between the pic and the pc. The Pic interrupt can circumvent this, but must be implemented carefully. For now, we will use a dummy delay loop (just a for loop that does nothing) to act as our delay for the purposes of development, and have plans to replace this with something more efficient.