Why isn't #device 16F876 *=16 configured by default?

[zclobes]

I just upgraded my PCM from an old version (3+ yrs old) and couldn't recompile my code because I ran out of RAM. This particular code runs on a 16F876 and typically consumes 85%+ of the available RAM, which includes an 85 byte buffer string (array).

I finally got the code to compile by changing my 16F876.h file to read:

[dyeatman]

Yep. Enabling the 16 bit pointers increases code size and may affect execution speed in speed critical applications which is something some people may not want .

If you had used it on the old processor from your previous project it would have used more space there and might have caused you problems too.

Just put the line #device *=16 right after the header include line in the main source code. That way you dont have to modify any header files...