Debug interface provides drag and drop programming for OpenSDA

22-06-2016 | By Paul Whytock

A new version of the J-Link firmware for NXP's evaluation boards with OpenSDA debug and programming interface has been developed by embedded software company SEGGER. OpenSDA is used on the Tower and Freedom evaluation boards equipped with Kinetis microcontroller devices.

The company says this update provides zero-configuration drag and drop programming support. Programming new software onto an application processor is a familiar drag and drop operation using Windows explorer or MacOS Finder. With this system once dropped, the new software is programmed without setup files or complex configuration.

The firmware upgrade turns a board’s OpenSDA interface into a fully functioning J-Link, which, in addition to programming, is capable of debugging the board's application processor. And advantage of the system is that by upgrading to the J-Link firmware developers can set an unlimited number of breakpoints in flash memory and debug their applications more efficiently.

The company says that by adding USB mass-storage flash programming capabilities to the OpenSDA J-Link debug interface, which already included a virtual serial port, enables fast demonstrations and provides a simple interface for other embedded tools.

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By Paul Whytock

Paul Whytock is Technology Correspondent for Electropages. He has reported extensively on the electronics industry in Europe, the United States and the Far East for over thirty years. Prior to entering journalism, he worked as a design engineer with Ford Motor Company at locations in England, Germany, Holland and Belgium.