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A dynamic very high-level debugger for low-level microprograms

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Published:01 December 1986Publication History
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Abstract

Microcode debuggers may be classified according to the following three criteria: static or dynamic output, the level of debugging, and the type of debugging facilities provided. A very high level interactive debugger that supports dynamic debugging of microcode written for the Perkin-Elmer 3220 is described in this paper.

The system allows the user to debug microcode at a very high level because the microarchitecture of the machine can be displayed in the format conceived by the user. The display is dynamic in that the user sees the flow of data as it occurs during the execution of microinstructions. The system supports the usual debugging facilities including setting breakpoints, executing in step or continuous modes, executing in trace mode, examining and changing the contents of memory locations and registers, and restarting the microprogram at an earlier location. But, these facilities are greatly enhanced because the output of the debugger is graphical and dynamic.

References

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            • Published in

              cover image ACM SIGMICRO Newsletter
              ACM SIGMICRO Newsletter  Volume 17, Issue 4
              Dec. 1986
              163 pages
              ISSN:1050-916X
              DOI:10.1145/19530
              Issue’s Table of Contents
              • cover image ACM Conferences
                MICRO 19: Proceedings of the 19th annual workshop on Microprogramming
                December 1986
                179 pages
                ISBN:081860736X
                DOI:10.1145/19551

              Copyright © 1986 Authors

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              Association for Computing Machinery

              New York, NY, United States

              Publication History

              • Published: 1 December 1986

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