Debug the Non-Intrusive Way
Debugging is an important part of embedded software development. It is something that applies to all forms of embedded software development. However, there is a common issue that occurs with debugging. Debugging tends to be intrusive in nature because of the debugging tools that are used.
In fact, the tools for debugging are so intrusive that they begin to affect the functionality of a code.
This is why non-intrusive debugging methods are the need of the hour. One such non-intrusive debugging method is Trace Debugging. It is basically a software diagnostic method used for real-time embedded systems. Trace debugging helps trace processor activity even when the processor operates without depending on the cache.
Now, a newly developed method of trace debugging offers real-time debugging for embedded software. Here, the method relies on non-intrusive measurements that are supported by deductive algorithms.
In order to test the method, a high performance Motorola 68020 processor was used. It was found that the software was able to simulate microprocessor operation in external bus operation and internal data manipulation. The results of the simulation supported the efficiency of the trace debugging method. This verified the feasibility of the technique and proved that trace debugging is highly efficient. It also proved that the technique was non-intrusive and can be applied even for high-performance processors.
