Keil™, An ARM® Company

ARM Development Tools

Advantages of the
µVision Simulator for ARM

µVision is a sophisticated IDE and Debugger/Simulator that offers numerous benefits to serious ARM embedded developers.

View the µVision IDE Benefits.

The µVision Debugger allows you to test programs with the integrated simulator or with the Keil ULINK USB-JTAG Adapter. Simulation allows software testing without hardware and provides fast edit-compile-test cycles, improves product quality, and enables reproducible regression test results.

The benefits of combining simulation and JTAG debugging are summarized in the following table.

FeatureSimulatorJTAG DebuggerDescription
BreakpointsUnlimited Breakpoint Capabilities including access, conditional, and execution breakpoints.Embedded ICE Restrictions include only two execution/access breakpoints in Flash. Unlimited software breakpoints in RAM.Single-chip design has only Flash ROM for program code.
PeripheralsSimulated peripherals fully synchronized with program execution.Peripherals may not stop when a breakpoint is triggered.Simulation allows detailed analysis of complex algorithms that interface to peripherals.
Power-Down and Idle ModePower-down and idle modes are fully simulated.Embedded ICE is not available in power-down or idle mode.With simulation, it is possible to test situations that stop or even destroy real hardware.
Trace and Timing AnalysisFull timing and execution analysis with Code Coverage, Trace, Timing Profile, Logic Analyzer.Extended test features via ETM, but impossible via JTAG.ETM requires additional I/O pins which are not available on some devices.
Input Signal PatternsInput signal generation from a script language; synchronized with program execution (single-stepping).Input signals provided by hardware and external test equipment.Simulation for verification of specifications; JTAG debugging for real-world testing.
Real-Time DebuggingSimulation is timing accurate and in correct relation to peripherals.JTAG Debugging runs real-time at full CPU speed.Simulation, while timing accurate, is 4-10 times slower than a high-speed ARM device.