Stuart,

To read the contents of a uController you will need a serial port or a paralell programmer (etc..) depending on the programming interface of the chip. Most programming software will have the ability to read back the program that has been written to the chip for verification purposes.

When you read the contents of a chip you will get pure machine code back, and will not be able to see what language it was originally written in. (Unless you know some compilers extremely well, and recognize the code it generates somehow...).

You will not be able to read the contents if the lock bits of the chip has been said. Having said that, there are some people who can still get the contents by opening the chip and taking readings directly from the silicone (I believe they call it microprobing.. Do a google search, and you'll probably find some information about it..)

What exactly do you have to discover about functionality by getting the program?? A bit of "reverse engineering" going on here..?

Øyvind