TABLAT, which stands for Table Lookup and Accumulate, is a common term in microcontroller programming, particularly in assembly language for PIC microcontrollers. It is used to perform table lookups, which are essential for tasks such as data retrieval from a predefined set of values, character encoding, and more. Understanding how to effectively use TABLAT can significantly enhance the efficiency and performance of your microcontroller applications.

In the context of microchip development, TABLAT is part of the PIC microcontroller's instruction set. It allows for efficient data retrieval by accessing table data stored in the program memory. This is particularly useful for applications that require quick access to large sets of data, such as lookup tables for mathematical functions or character encoding schemes.

Examples:

1. Basic Table Lookup Using TABLAT:

   Here is an example of how to use TABLAT in assembly language for a PIC microcontroller to perform a table lookup:

   ; Assume we have a table of 8-bit values stored in program memory
   ORG 0x1000
   Table:
      RETLW 0x10
      RETLW 0x20
      RETLW 0x30
      RETLW 0x40
      RETLW 0x50
   
   ; Main program
   ORG 0x0000
   Start:
      MOVLW 0x02         ; Load the index (2) into WREG
      CALL TableLookup   ; Call the table lookup subroutine
      ; The result will be in WREG (0x30 in this case)
      END
   
   ; Table lookup subroutine
   TableLookup:
      ADDWF PCL, F       ; Add WREG to PCL to jump to the correct RETLW instruction
      RETURN

2. Using TABLAT with Enhanced Mid-Range PIC Microcontrollers:

   For enhanced mid-range PIC microcontrollers, the process involves using the TBLPTR (Table Pointer) and TABLAT registers. Here is an example:

   ; Assume we have a table of 16-bit values stored in program memory
   ORG 0x1000
   Table:
      DW 0x1234
      DW 0x5678
      DW 0x9ABC
      DW 0xDEF0
   
   ; Main program
   ORG 0x0000
   Start:
      MOVLW 0x02         ; Load the index (2) into WREG
      MOVWF TBLPTR       ; Move WREG to TBLPTR
      CALL TableLookup   ; Call the table lookup subroutine
      ; The result will be in TABLAT (0x9A in this case)
      END
   
   ; Table lookup subroutine
   TableLookup:
      TBLRD*+            ; Read the table value and increment the table pointer
      MOVF TABLAT, W     ; Move the result from TABLAT to WREG
      RETURN