It is easy to get up and running with Microchip’s suite of development tools. First, download the free MPLAB IDE which works with all of Microchip’s MCU products. The next step is to select a debugger and programmer from the low cost PICkit3 to the very popular ICD3, or the fully featured Real ICE for advanced emulation. Keep in mind that the debugger/programmer may not be included as part of the development tool bundle purchased. This functionality is integrated in many of the “Starter Kit” products available. If the designer wants to develop code in C, the free Lite versions of the MPLAB or Hi-Tech C compiler for PIC18 are available.