[Beth Sweet]

Amateurrobotguy,

I think that what the other folks are trying to say is, that it may be a bit intimidating for people who are not already experienced and confident programmers like yourself, yet who are interested in learning programming, to jump straight into a complex and difficult program like MPLab. They need a little stepping stone, like the quit smoking patches, it's much easier to get it in steps. This way you can learn things from a basic level, learn the concepts, then learn all the technicalities and how to manipulate them.

For example, if I were to need to code the robot, I would have no idea where to start. Granted, there are MPLab tutorials out there, but a totally new person to programming like myself, probably wouldn't even understand those directions, we need an "Intro Course" shall we say. For some of us, that's what EasyC can do.

So if you are able to go straight to MPLab, that's fantastic! I'm sure that your team (btw, which team is it, you don't mention on your profile which you're from!) is very lucky to have you, and that your skills are a valuable resource for your surrounding region! But for those of us who are just starting out, EasyC is an effective "Intro Class" to programming!