BBC micro:bit upgrade provides students a path to production grade IDE

SEGGER has introduced J-Link support for the BBC micro:bit providing students a path to using a production grade IDE for their next micro:bit project. The company offers the capability to upgrade the firmware on the BBC micro:bit DAPLink to a J-Link OB (On Board). This firmware makes the on-board debug solution on the BBC micro:bit compatible to J-Link, allowing users to take advantage of all features such as ultra fast flash download and debugging speeds and the free-to-use GDBServer as well as application development using an IDE. “Adding J-Link debug capabilities to the BBC micro:bit broadens its exposure to an even larger audience. The micro:bit eco-system is improved significantly by making professional tool options available to developers,” says John Leonard, product marketing manager, Nordic Semiconductor. The device is supported in all major IDE’s; IAR EWARM, Keil MDK, Rowley Crossworks, SEGGER’s own Embedded Studio and other Eclipse/GDB based offerings. This gives students developers flexibility in their choice of IDE’s without compromising on the superior download speed to RAM and Flash that J-Link technology offers.