User`s manual

Dynamic C User’s Manual digi.com 287
Enable execution tracing
If this is checked, the target will send trace information back to Dynamic C when you turn on
tracing by choosing Inspect | Start Execution Tracing or when your program does so by exe-
cuting a _TRACE or _TRACEON macro. Unchecking this box will disable the menu command
and macros.
Note that enabling tracing here will cause more code to be compiled into the BIOS, meaning
there is less memory available on the target for your program, so if you get insufficient mem-
ory errors with your program, disabling tracing might help. Also, when you turn on tracing
from the menu or a macro, your program will suffer a performance hit because of the extra
communication required between Dynamic C and the target.
Trace Buffer (PC)
The trace buffer allows you to specify how much memory is allocated on your computer (the
default is 64 megabytes) to hold trace entries received from the target. If you check the
"Wrap" box, new trace entries overwrite existing ones when the buffer fills up, starting with
the oldest. When "Wrap" is unchecked, any entries received after the buffer fills up are dis-
carded.
The number of entries displayed is the maximum number of trace entries the buffer will hold
given the size of the trace buffer you specify and the Trace window information fields you
select.
Trace Level
Choose which events will be captured by the trace. Full tracing captures all debuggable state-
ments plus function entries and exits. If you don't want to include all statements, you can
choose to capture each function entry and exit only.
Dynamic C statements are debuggable by default, while assembly code is not. You can toggle
this with the debug and nodebug keywords for Dynamic C functions, and with the debug and
nodebug options of the #asm compiler directive for blocks of assembly code.
Trace Window Fields to Trace
You can select the trace information captured from the target and displayed in the Trace win-
dow. You can include the function name, file name, and line and column where each trace
entry originated; the type of action being performed; the time stamp when the action was per-
formed; and the contents of the registers. The more fields you select to be displayed in the
Trace window, the larger each entry, and so the fewer entries the trace buffer can hold.
Saving Trace Window to a File
Checking the "Save on program termination" box will cause Dynamic C to write the contents
of the trace buffer to a file when your program terminates. When this box is checked, you
must specify the filename and location where you want to save.
Note that this feature saves the contents of the trace buffer at the time your program termi-
nates, so if the buffer fills up while your program is running not all trace entries received will
be written to the file. If you want to save trace entries before they are lost, you can do so at any
time from the Trace window. See Execution Trace (Alt+ F12) for details.