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Keil uVision IDE and the redBlocks Simulator – A Perfect Match

Matthias Bauer
Matthias Bauer
February 9, 2016
1 minute read time.

The integration of the redBlocks WYSIWYG-SiL-Simulator and the Keil uVision IDE forms a powerful tool for virtualizing the processor and the hardware peripherals of embedded targets in a graphical simulation environment on a development host. The target application can be integrated and tested in this virtualized environment - fully automated with python scripts and totally independent from the target hardware.

uVision_redBlocks_Simulator.jpg

Like other embedded IDE's, the Keil uVision IDE includes an instruction set simulator (ISS) that allows to debug target binary software on a development host. Instruction set simulators emulate the target processor’s CPU by evaluating the target machine instructions by software. The processor’s registers can be conveniently observed and manipulated in the IDE’s debugger.

uVision_Simulator.pngDebugger in the Keil uVision IDE

As an instruction set simulator virtualizes a target processor, it can be used to test embedded software without the need to download it to a target hardware board. This can be useful in early development stages, when no target hardware is yet available.

However, there is a major drawback: Instruction set simulators are typically not capable of emulating custom embedded hardware peripherals. If you are lucky, the ISS offers some basic support for peripherals, like visualizing the content of peripheral function registers. But this is not suitable to interact with your embedded application like you would with the real target hardware in order to check whether the embedded software behaves as expected.

Using the redBlocks Simulator together with the Keil uVision IDE eliminates this drawback. While the Keil uVision IDE emulates the target processor, the redBlocks Simulator models all target peripherals (e. g. buttons, connected sensors, …). With the redBlocks Simulator’s unique WYSIWYG concept, it is easy to build graphical representations of arbitrary target hardware and operate it like the real device.

redBlocks_Simulator.png

The redBlocks WYSIWYG-SiL-Simulator, emulating a vending machine

Read more about how the redBlocks WYSIWYG-SiL-Simulatorcan be used to deploy the redBlocks SiL envirionment on a development host, in order to integrate and automatically test embedded software applications long before the target hardware is available.

redlogix Software & System Engineering

 
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