Debugging and dynamic modification of embedded systems
Peter Burgess, Mike Livesey, Colin Allison · 1996
The paper describes the debugging and dynamic modification facilities provided for real time distributed systems within the Testbed embedded systems environment. We exploit natural break-points present in a state machine programming model to perform monitoring and debugging actions. This technique can avoid the probe effect which is a major problem in debugging concurrent and real-time systems. We describe the background debugging technique in which debugging is partially automated to further reduce interference. Testbed also supports a dynamic modification technique that avoids re-starting the application, which may be inappropriate for embedded systems that run continuously without a notion of stopping time. Background debugging and dynamic modification complement each other in Testbed to provide a powerful alternative to traditional debugging methods.