is there a way to debug with RS232 ?

[mehmet.karakaya]

Posted on September 15, 2010 at 12:24

is there a way to debug with RS232 ?

[gregstm]

Posted on May 17, 2011 at 14:07

If you have a good simulator and a patient and persistant attitude you should be able to develop programs with just RS232. I'm designing my boards to only require rs232 for development (no space for anything else). You should use a few pins to flash leds or toggle etc. for diagnostics and timing measurements with an oscilloscope. Ideally break the program into routines that can be tested individually (if necessary). The bootloader is a luxury compared to the days of having to erase and program an EPROM every test run.

Greg.

[mehmet.karakaya]

Posted on May 17, 2011 at 14:07

thank you for your advices

I was asking if we can debug with RS232 as if we use a JTAG emulator

[Tesla DeLorean]

Posted on May 17, 2011 at 14:07

Well it won't provide you with JTAG type function and visibility.

The RS232/serial connection has been used classically by those of us who used to burn EPROMs, to provide debug and monitor functions, and output debugging messages, and instrumentation within the code. It's relatively easy to write a monitor that can download and run hex files produced by the compiler, or provide X/Y Modem and terminal functions. JTAG is useful for single stepping code when you can't figure out what's going on, but it's not nearly as useful for understanding the real time behaviour of a system in a working environment.

[Andrew Neil]

Posted on May 17, 2011 at 14:07

''I was asking if we can debug with RS232''

Go to your local library, and search for 20 year old books on computer development - RS232 was the way to debug! The term you're looking for is ''Debug Monitor'' eg, 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_code_monitor

''as if we use a JTAG emulator'' An RS232 Debug Monitor has many drawbacks & limitations - that's why JTAG was invented! And, of course, how would you debug your Monitor...?! See: 

http://e2e.ti.com/support/microcontrollers/stellaris_arm_cortex-m3_microcontroller/f/471/p/54278/222698.aspx#222698