Debugging with a PEMicro probe

Debugging on a bare-metal target with a PEMicro probe requires the PEMicro GDB server (Eclipse plug-in) to be installed on S32 Design Studio . Find the details in topic Installing plug-ins.

To debug a bare-metal application on the board connected to the computer with a PEMicro probe:

  1. Create an application project in the wizard and specify “GDB PEMicro Debugging Interface” as the debugger.
  2. Build the application.
  3. Open the Debug Configurations dialog and go to the GDB PEMicro Interface Debugging group of configurations. Click the debug configuration for debugging from RAM of from flash generated for your project.
  4. On the Debugger tab, specify the following mandatory settings:


    Debugger settings for PE probe

    • Interface: Select the PEMicro debug interface connected to the target device. Click Compatible Hardware to open the PEMicro Web page and view the list of targets supported by the selected debug interface.
    • Port: If the debug interface uses a USB connection, select the COM port labeled with the device name from the Port menu. Click Refresh to update the list of connected ports.
    • Target: Click Select Device and select the target device. The vendor, family, and type of the device appear in the respective fields.
    • Core: Expand the Core list and select the target core.
    • Executable: Select or enter the path to the GDB client.

    Leave the remaining settings with their default values.

    Note: To set up your configuration for a special debugging scenario, consult the P&E GDB Server Plug-In debug configuration user guide. This document is available in the <S32 Design Studio installation path>/S32DS/help/pdf/ folder.
  5. Click Apply, then click Debug. The debug session is started and stopped at the first breakpoint (typically, at main) that is specified on the Startup tab in the Set breakpoint at field.
  6. To use real-time printf with Instrumentation Trace Macrocell (supported for particular devices), click Window > Show View > Other... > PEmicro > SWO Printf. In the SWO Printf console, click the Start Trace (Start Trace) button.
  7. Click Resume and debug the application as you always do.
Note: When you use the GDB console commands to control the program, views are not updated instantly. Use the step command to see the refreshed views.