Other Useful Tools
This section is an introduction to other tools that many software developers find useful.
Simulators
A simulator is a completely host-based program that simulates (hence the catchy name) the functionality and instruction set of the target processor. The user interface is usually the same as or similar to that of the remote debugger. In fact, it might be possible to use one debugger host for the simulator target as well, as shown in Figure 5-3. Although simulators have many disadvantages, they are quite valuable in the earlier stages of a project when there is not yet any actual hardware for the programmers to experiment with. If you cannot get your hands on a development board, a simulator is the best tool for getting a jump-start on the software development.
Figure 5-3. A common debugger frontend
By far, the biggest disadvantage of a simulator is that it simulates only the processor. Embedded systems frequently contain one or more important peripherals. Interaction with these devices can sometimes be imitated with simulator scripts or other workarounds, but such workarounds are often more trouble to create than the simulation is worth. So you probably wonât do too much with the simulator once the actual embedded hardware is available.
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