User`s guide

Additional Features

• When you delete a breakpoint in the Program Memory window on any line of

assembly code that represents a single line of C code, the red breakpoint symbol

will disappear next to the assembly code line but the yellow breakpoint symbol will

remain next to the line of C code until all corresponding assembly code

breakpoints are deleted.

6.4.4 Breakpoints and MPLAB ICD 2

MPLAB ICD 2 in-circuit debugger supports a limited amount of breakpoints. The

number available are displayed in the Breakpoint dialog (Debugger>Breakpoints

Also, advanced breakpoints may be set for this tool. Select Debugger>Advanced

Breakpoints. The contents of this dialog are device-dependent.

6.5 HIGH-LEVEL LANGUAGE SUPPORT

Low-level languages, like assembly, are close to the machine language supported by

the hardware. By contrast, high-level languages, like C or Basic, are more like human

languages and are more removed from the hardware. A compiler can be used to go

from the high-level language, to a low-level language, and then to machine code.

Because the high-level language is more removed from the hardware, it can be more

complex to debug. MPLAB IDE has several features which aid in developing and

debugging this type of code.

• Select Device dialog – Determine if there is compiler support for your selected

device. Yellow or green indicates that there is a Microchip compiler available. (Full

versions may be purchased and demo/student versions may be downloaded from

our website for free.) Red indicates that Microchip does not currently provide

compiler support. See third party sources listed on our website for other

compilers.

• Language Tool dialogs – Once you have acquired and installed a compiler, it can

be set up to work with MPLAB IDE using language tool dialogs, namely Select

Language Toolsuite and Set Language Tool Locations, selected from the Project

menu.

• Projects – Use projects to manage multi-file code. Also, make use of predefined,

device-specific header (include) and linker files found in the install directory of the

Microchip compiler tool.

• Build Options dialog – Compiler options may be specified for your project on tabs

of the Build options dialog (Project>Build Options>Project

). Example: MPLAB C30

compiler options are found on the MPLAB C30 tab.

• Watch windows – Several C-language constructs are supported in the Watch

window. See Section 6.3.7 “C Language Usage – Watch Window”.

• Symbol Browser window – View the symbols in your code in a structured format

using this window.

• VDI tool – Use the Visual Device Initializer to create device initialization code for

you (Tools>Visual Initializer

). See more on MPLAB IDE VDI under the Help menu.