Creating PIC programs and programming your PICs is easy after you have the basics down pat.
Perhaps this **broken link removed** would help you/someone out.
To further answer your previous question, I would recommend the 16F877, as you can create programs in Proton Lite, SIM them, and then apply them in real life. Proton Lite only supports a couple of PIC's, Proton+ PDS (Full version) supports almost every PIC out there. Also, the 16F877 has HEAPS of program space, and plenty of I/O pins & features for future projects!
Why Proton Lite? Well after you have played with the virtual simulation tool (as shown in the tutorial above) you wont go back