User Guide

Glossary
 2018 Microchip Technology Inc. DS50002751C-page 83
Persistent Data
Data that is never cleared or initialized. Its intended use is so that an application can
preserve data across a device Reset.
Phantom Byte
An unimplemented byte in dsPIC architecture used when treating the 24-bit instruction
word as if it were a 32-bit instruction word. Phantom bytes appear in dsPIC hex files.
PIC MCUs
PIC microcontrollers (MCUs) refers to all Microchip microcontroller families.
PICkit 3
Microchip’s developmental device programmers with debug capability through Debug
Express. See the Readme files for each tool to see which devices are supported.
Plug-ins
The MPLAB IDE/MPLAB X IDE has both built-in components and plug-in modules to
configure the system for a variety of software and hardware tools. Several plug-in tools
may be found under the Tools menu.
Pod
The enclosure for an in-circuit emulator or debugger. Other names are “Puck,” if the
enclosure is round, and “Probe” (not to be confused with logic probes).
Power-on-Reset Emulation
A software randomization process that writes random values in data RAM areas to
simulate uninitialized values in RAM upon initial power application.
Pragma
A directive that has meaning to a specific compiler. Often a pragma is used to convey
implementation-defined information to the compiler.
Precedence
Rules that define the order of evaluation in expressions.
Production Programmer
A production programmer is a programming tool that has resources designed in to
program devices rapidly. It has the capability to program at various voltage levels and
completely adheres to the programming specification. Programming a device as fast
as possible is of prime importance in a production environment where time is of the
essence as the application circuit moves through the assembly line.
Profile
For MPLAB SIM simulator, a summary listing of executed stimulus by register.
Program Counter
The location that contains the address of the instruction that is currently executing.
Program Counter Unit
16-bit assembler – A conceptual representation of the layout of program memory. The
program counter increments by 2 for each instruction word. In an executable section,
2 program counter units are equivalent to 3 bytes. In a read-only section, 2 program
counter units are equivalent to 2 bytes.
Program Memory
MPLAB IDE/MPLAB X IDE – The memory area in a device where instructions are
stored. Also, the memory in the emulator or simulator containing the downloaded target
application firmware. 16-bit assembler/compiler – The memory area in a device where
instructions are stored.