winIDEA HelpGetting started
We know how difficult it is to get started with new software and tools.
Every embedded software developer brings so much knowledge with them, experience with alternative development platforms, and understanding for microcontrollers. With this in mind, our selection of tutorials has been especially curated to help the learner leverage their existing understanding in the context of the TASKING Debugger development environment.
With these tutorials, you get to know the development process with BlueBox Technology, install winIDEA, connect your hardware, create a new workspace and set the most basic settings, and establish a Debug Session.
•Setup and Configure BlueBox Hardware
•Create your first winIDEA IDE Workspace
Before you start
Before you can start configuring BlueBox tools, it is important to know the following:
•Which microcontroller will be used?
•Which debug and/or trace features are supported by the microcontroller?
•Is the chosen microcontroller supported by us? You can check the full list here.
•Which debug/trace connectors are available on the development board?
•Are the debug/trace pins (if required) brought out to a connector on your development board and its type? Refer to PCB Design Guidelines.
•Which clock source is being used and clock frequency, when the microcontroller starts?
•Is an external or internal watchdog timer being used?
BlueBox Hardware
BlueBox Hardware is a versatile family of tools and adapters designed for debugging and tracing embedded systems.
The primary hardware product within this family is referred to as the BlueBox Debugger. For more information and comparison, refer to the following tables:
To perform debugging and tracing of embedded targets, a range of specialized Debug Adapters and Active Probes, suited for various microcontroller families, can be used.
winIDEA IDE
winIDEA IDE, in conjunction with the BlueBox Hardware is a tool for debugging, testing and analyzing embedded systems. It enables access to single and multi-core microcontrollers and offers different forms of debug interfaces to work with your microcontroller and debug hardware.
You can download winIDEA for Microsoft Windows which offers plugins or extensions for Visual Studio Code (VS Code) and Eclipse. You can also use Linux for your development processes.
Debug environment setup
A typical setup for debugging embedded software with winIDEA consists of
•PC with winIDEA
•BlueBox
•Debug Adapter
•Target
License is programmed into the BlueBox.
Which license do I need?
Every new BlueBox in conjunction with winIDEA operates in an evaluation period with all its functionality temporarily enabled for 10 days from the first time of use. Within the 10-days evaluation period BlueBox you must request the license.
For more information about licensing and versions, refer to Licensing.
Next steps
