I wonder how many of you have really worked with PIC? In the last 2 years I have done some projects with PIC. My experience and comparisions:

1) Considerable code and hardware compatibility. I have replaced a 16F with 18F due to last minute change in specs, needing more horsepower. The 18F452 and 16F877A are pin compatible.

2) Tools and chips by the same company. Limited third party chaos. So one is never given the run around like Philips or Atmel. They make their own chips, so they do find most of the bugs and post errata.

3) And if I find a bug in datasheet or chip or tool, it is acknowledged as a bug, no one from the support trying to teach me about pull up resistors or concept of quasi bidirectional etc. And this was before becoming a Microchip consultant.

4) Limited instruction set and a pain to learn. But offset by C compilers and large number of hardware peripherals. Tools not as good as Keil or Raisonance but again well integrated and reasonably priced. Only Motorola/ Freescale has better integrated tools.

5) Scalability, really 6 pins to 80 pins from one company. Again Motorola/ Freescale and Renesas are only others who come to mind. And I am not even counting the DSP or the new 16 bitters.

6) Excellent forum, in a way better than this forum, because even company employees participate. Here an ocassional Houghton or Knapp.

7) In India, even though a small market, top class sample and sales support.