What Is a PIC Microcontroller?

A microcontroller is a tiny computer built to run one job forever. This lesson introduces the PIC family and what makes it a popular choice for that job.

A PIC microcontroller is a single chip that packs a small processor, some memory, and a handful of input/output pins into one package. "PIC" began as an internal project name at a chip company decades ago and has stuck around as the brand name for a very large family of low-cost, easy-to-source microcontrollers used in everything from washing-machine control panels to garage door openers to hobby robots.

Unlike the desktop or laptop computer you might be reading this on, a PIC does not run an operating system, does not multitask, and does not have a screen or keyboard by default. It runs one program, in a loop, for as long as it has power. That focus is exactly what makes it useful: a microcontroller can be smaller, cheaper, more power-efficient, and far more reliable than a general-purpose computer when the job is narrow — blink a light, read a sensor, drive a motor, watch a button.

Over the next nineteen lessons we'll build up from "what's inside the chip" to a small working project: blinking an LED, reading a button, then measuring temperature and sounding an alarm. Each lesson stands on its own, but they're written to be read in order the first time through.

You don't need a PIC in hand to follow along conceptually — every lesson explains the ideas in plain English first — but if you want to try the code examples on real hardware, a low-cost PIC16-series chip, a breadboard, and a simple USB programmer are enough to get started.