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Dev Tools Go By Many Names - Here's Help on Figuring Out What You Need

By Derek Carlson, VP of Development Tools, Microchip Technology

Whether new to embedded design or a seasoned veteran, designers face an incredible number of choices. Looking at the various offerings from silicon manufacturers and tool vendors, it is sometimes difficult to know where to start.

What do the names “starter kit,” or “demonstration board,” or “starter board” or “development tool” mean? The fact that there is no strong consensus among tool vendors doesn’t help. What’s really needed to get started? As someone who has been working in this business for more than just a few years, I will try to help you sort some of this out.

Integrated Starter Kits

Integrated starter kits have everything needed, including programming, debugging and a demonstration circuit, all on a single board. Simply attach the kit to your PC, and the demo will typically start without further assistance.

This kind of automation simplifies the whole “getting started” process. A working application is presented in an easily demonstrable circuit board, along with complete source code and development tools to recreate—and modify—the application. Source code can be changed and the results seen quickly, without making additional connections. This makes an integrated kit very approachable for beginners. Those with previous experience also appreciate how quickly they can grasp the particular technology concepts behind the device and its demo tutorial.

Integrated starter kits are usually low-cost—often found priced in the range of $20 to $50US.

Expansion and Workstation Connections

The advantages of integrated starter kits may be offset a bit by a couple of things. First, the typical starter kit usually demonstrates a single device in a limited range of applications. Adding a socket allows the flexibility of adapting the kit to other devices, but it also adds costs. The device used in a starter kit is usually soldered to the board to keep costs low.

Expansion connectors can also be expensive, so starter kits usually include no such capability. Or if they do, they may leave the site unpopulated on the board for customer expansion.

During the development of the PIC32 Starter Kit, previously reviewed by DEV-monkey, we tried to strike a good balance between useful design and cost sensitivity. The kit includes a low-cost expansion connector and emphasizes a simple, low-cost demonstration. It endeavors to provide a great out-of-box experience, with common features typically found in the class of low-cost, integrated kits with onboard debugging.

Typically, integrated kits will connect a PC workstation through a USB port. Some will connect directly to the USB port, functioning almost like a USB Flash drive. This can be attractive when workspace is limited. Most will connect through a USB cable. This provides the most flexibility, particularly if the USB port is located in the back of a desktop’s system.

Modular Kits

Modular starter kits put the programming and debug circuitry on one board, often referred to as a probe, and the application or demonstration circuit on another.

The probe usually has two connections. One connects to the PC workstation. The second connection attaches the probe to an application board. The vendor and specific debug protocol employed defines this connector. Various connection schemes include flat-ribbon cables, RJ-11, or other commonly available jacks and in-line connector blocks.

The partitioning of the debug probe and application board allows the flexibility of mixing and matching the two. The probe can be connected to any application circuit that provides a compatible connection. The application side, vice versa, can be used with any compatible probe.

After installing the software on a PC workstation, typical kits will provide a variety of sample code. Compile or assemble this code, reprogram the device used on the demonstration board to test it, and quickly see how the new system behaves.

This class of starter kits is very approachable for beginners—with some assembly required. The flexibility of mixing and matching probes and application circuits carries some incompatibility risks. When designing new circuits, manufacturers’ data sheets should be carefully inspected. However, simple modifications to the circuits can usually be done by referring to the existing design as a guide or “cookbook.” For a place to begin, the demo board in a modular kit can often provide a great starting point for a new application.

The PICkit™ 2 Starter Kit is a modular kit. It comes with a programming and debugging probe that connects to a matching low pin count demo board. The PICkit 2 can also be connected to many other demonstration boards sharing the 6-pin In-Circuit Serial Programming™ connector. A booklet containing 12 lessons is designed to get a novice up to speed quickly.

Modular starter kits have a broader range of pricing, depending on the complexity of the debug probe, application circuit and expansion capability. They typically start at less than $50, and go up from there.

Emulator Probes and High-End Tools

Modern emulation, using circuitry within the device itself to debug the application, has many advantages. This is the most faithful representation of design behavior, because the actual device is used. The devices may be run and debugged at full speed. Using high-speed debugging protocols, key features such as trace, logging and real-time data I/O are currently accomplished at a relatively low cost, though it may cost a bit more than the typical starter kit or introductory tool.

Examples of this kind of tool include the MPLAB® REAL ICE™ emulation system. It provides a complete high-speed debugging probe, with accessories to trace and log critical run-time information.

Paired with a suitable off-the-shelf demonstration board, an emulator kit can guide a designer through the complete engineering/production cycle. Emulators offer a rich set of debugging features, such as logic analyzers, while providing an expanding tool set that novices can explore as needed.

Providing these extra features usually means that higher-end debuggers and emulators will cost a little more than an integrated or modular starter kit. Expect pricing in the range of $100 and up. Some of the more expensive systems can cost several thousand dollars.
Demonstration Boards
Debugging probes, such as the PICkit 2 or MPLAB REAL ICE emulation system, have the advantage that they can be reused for any device supported by the probe and accompanying software. Demonstration boards, usually purchased separately, are sold for a variety of purposes. They may be very simple (e.g. the PICkit 2 Debug Express 44-pin demo board), providing not much more than LEDs, connections and a prototyping area.

They may also be quite complex and offer the user an opportunity to learn about an entire range or family of devices. Microchip’s Explorer 16 is one example. Using different plug-in modules, a variety of devices from the vendor’s 16- and 32-bit MCU families can be evaluated in detailed applications. These boards will usually demonstrate several interesting features and technologies, with  easy access to I/O pins and larger prototyping areas—allowing the development and testing of entirely new applications using a single board.

Often, these boards include expansion capabilities for more advanced exploration of such applications as SD & MMC cards, Ethernet and IrDA®, to name but a few.

Demonstration boards are not the exclusive domain of applications experts, in particular. However, owing to the more advanced nature of the topics, features and options they address, boards such as these may require more study, while offering wider application development flexibility in return.

 

At a Glance

Beginners should feel comfortable jumping in at either end of the pool. Integrated and modular starter kits provide some additional support, because of their ease of use and sample code. Experts, on the other hand, can quickly and easily try their hand with a new device or technology without having to invest in relatively straightforward (but still time consuming) hardware development.

The more advanced tools, such as emulator systems and sophisticated demonstration boards, offer a different level of learning and flexibility not typically reached by the starter kits. Beginners willing to assume a little more responsibility for the setup and configuration can use them as effective learning aids.

Tool Type	Typical Application Versatility	Typical Feature Set	User Accessibility	Price	Example
Integrated starter kits	Limited to moderate	Basic to limited	Basic to Easy	$20	PIC32 Starter Kit
Modular starter kits	Limited to very complex	Basic to complex	Easy to moderate	$40 and up	PICkit 2
Emulators and debuggers	All purpose	Limited to very complex	Moderate to advanced	$100 and up	MPLAB REAL ICE
Demonstration boards	Limited to very complex	Limited to very complex	Easy to advanced	$20 and up	Explorer 16

The table above features a summary of the tool categories discussed in this article

Application versatility, using a subjective measure from limited to complex, where limited describes a very narrow scope, indicates that starter kits (particularly integrated starter kits) tend to have a narrower scope than a complete demonstration board. Integrated kits tend to have fewer features than systems combined into a modular kit, or high-end emulators and debuggers.

While it doesn’t always hold true, integrated and modular starter kits will often have a more basic feature set than an in-circuit debugger or emulator. Both do the basics, including run, halt, single step and program. The more advanced features include things such as complex breaks and triggers, as well as logging and tracing capability.
 

Making a Decision

So, what’s to be learned here?  If nothing else, maybe it’s that names are not all that important!

If you are looking to experiment with a device using an inexpensive kit, an integrated starter kit may be the way to go. If you think you will want to reuse your kit for future development, look for its ability to connect to different target applications. If you also plan on changing devices, you may want to look at modular starter kits with accompanying demonstration boards. Heavy-duty debugging of different devices may draw you toward a good in-circuit debugger or emulator.

Regardless of how vendors name a kit, look for the basic functions it will provide. Match these to your expectations, budget and design imperatives to find the easiest, quickest and most cost-effective solution for your design toolbox.
About the Author

Derek Carlson is vice president of Microchip Technology’s Development Tools group, overseeing the hardware and software development, manufacturing and customer service for the product line.  Carlson graduated from Northern Illinois University with a degree in Computer Science.  Joining Microchip in 1992, Carlson has more than 26 years of experience researching and developing tools for the telecommunications and semiconductor industries.

Note:  MPLAB is a registered trademark of Microchip Technology Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. REAL ICE, PICkit, and In-Circuit Serial Programming are trademarks of Microchip Technology Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are property of their respective owners.

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