[watchdogtimer]

The JAL programming language mentioned in the article (now called JALv2) is still actively developed. The latest version of the compiler was released less than 3 months ago.

It's no longer a Windows-only compiler. The standard compiler package includes binaries for OSX and Linux, too. It will even run on ARM if you compile it from source using the appropriate modifiers.

JALv2 is has a PASCAL-like syntax that is easy to learn and allows you to write some very elegant code.

The JAL libraries (jallib) are incredibly extensive, covering virtually every 8-bit PIC made and every possible peripheral function.

Vim supports syntax highlighting for JAL, making it a good text editor to use for writing code. I use Vim on a Raspberry Pi 2 to write and compile my code, then upload it to the PIC using the Pi's GPIO port and Pickle (http://wiki.kewl.org/dokuwiki/projects:pickle). No external programmer is necessary.

I prefer using JAL and one of the USB-capable PICs for my projects instead of an Arduino since I can build the entire project on a breadboard using one chip. I don't need to add a second serial-to-USB converter that's not available in a DIP package, nor require my users to install special serial driver from some unknown third party just to make it work.