| Abstract: | Two software tools are described that are designed to facilitate software development for microcontrollers. One is a mid-level programming language called Pascal/48 and the other is a circuit simulation system. Pascal/48 is designed to give the programmer many of the advantages of a high-level language, but also provide access to all of the hardware of the Intel MCS-48 series of microcontrollers. The circuit simulation system combines many of the advantages of simulation and emulation. It provides a software testing environment in which many more software functions can be tested than with conventional simulators. The system integrates an instruction-set simulator with simulators for other devices. They operate in parallel and are synchronized by a clock that records simulated time. I/O lines of the microcontroller can be linked to other components so that complete circuits can be simulated. Displays are provided of the internal and external state of the simulated circuit, and of the Pascal/48 program being executed. They are updated as simulated execution proceeds using the screen updating facilities of ASCII terminals. Simulation can be continuous, single step, or execution can be reversed (i.e. instructions are ‘unexecuted’). |
