User`s guide

MPLAB

IDE User’s Guide

1.6 DEVICE PROGRAMMING

After the application has been debugged and is running in the development environ-

ment, it needs to be tested on its own. A device can be programmed with the in-circuit

debugger or a device programmer. MPLAB IDE can be set to the programmer function,

and the part can be “burned”. The target application can now be observed in its nearly

final state. Engineering prototype programmers allow quick prototypes to be made and

evaluated. Some applications can be programmed after the device is soldered on the

target PC board. Using In-Circuit Serial Programming™ (ICSP™) programming capa-

bility, the firmware can be programmed into the application at the time of manufacture,

allowing updated revisions to be programmed into an embedded application later in its

life cycle. Devices that support in-circuit debugging can even be plugged back into the

MPLAB ICD 2 after manufacturing for quality tests and development of next generation

firmware.

1.7 COMPONENTS OF MPLAB IDE

The MPLAB IDE has both built-in components and plug-in modules to configure the

system for a variety of software and hardware tools.

1.7.1 MPLAB IDE Built-In Components

The built-in components consist of:

• Project Manager

The project manager provides integration and communication between the IDE and the

language tools.

•Editor

The editor is a full-featured programmer's text editor that also serves as a window into

the debugger.

• Assembler/Linker and Language Tools

The assembler can be used stand-alone to assemble a single file, or can be used with

the linker to build a project from separate source files, libraries and recompiled objects.

The linker is responsible for positioning the compiled code into memory areas of the

target microcontroller.

• Debugger

The Microchip debugger allows breakpoints, single stepping, watch windows and all

the features of a modern debugger for the MPLAB IDE. It works in conjunction with the

editor to reference information from the target being debugged back to the source

code.

• Execution Engines

There are software simulators in MPLAB IDE for all PICmicro MCU and dsPIC DSC

devices. These simulators use the PC to simulate the instructions and some peripheral

functions of the PICmicro MCU and dsPIC DSC devices. Optional in-circuit emulators

and in-circuit debuggers are also available to test code as it runs in the applications

hardware.