I just purchased a PIC microcontroller.
Which one?
I've used an eval board for the >motorola HC11 and it had a serial port
built it.
It also has code to load applications too. It's called a bootloader.
How do i connect a PIC uC to the computer to upload code?
A raw PIC requires a programmer. Here is a PICLIST page that lists a
bunch of them:
http://www.piclist.com/techref/microchip/devprogs.htm
I have a programmer of my own design that can be used to dump code in a
pinch. You can find the Trivial Programmer here:
http://www.finitesite.com/d3jsys
Since you are used to bootloaders, I would suggest that you continue down
that path with your PIC. You can find out a lot about PIC bootloaders on
the Tiny bootloader page:
http://www.etc.ugal.ro/cchiculita/software/picbootloader.htm
Be very aware of the fact that you still need a traditional PIC programmer
to get the bootloader code into the PIC. It's one of the primary purposes
of my Trivial Programmer series.
Good luck with your PIC stuff. You may want to subscribe to the PICList. There
are well over 2000 PIC enthusiasts there that will be happy to answer
questions that you may have. The PICList site is a virtual encyclopeadia
of PIC information.
Hope this helps,
BAJ