J-Link now fully supports direct debugging via JTAG on Microchip PIC32 devices. This includes support for the IEEE 1149.2 traditional 4-wire JTAG interface and the Microchip proprietary 2-wire JTAG interface. Debugging via 2-wire JTAG is supported on all 2-wire JTAG compliant PIC32 devices. To start using the J-Link with PIC32, the only thing required is a current J-Link model and the Microchip adapter.

The J-Link is known for having the highest download speed into RAM and flash memory on all supported targets. This is not different when it comes to debugging PIC32 devices. In addition, the J-Link allows setting an unlimited number of breakpoints in flash memory.

Moreover, in contrast to other debug probes supporting PIC32, J-Link does not require a debug handler in flash memory. This leaves the complete flash memory available for the target application and allows debug builds of the application to run stand-alone (even without J-Link being connected). This is a great advantage that results in an exceptional debugging experience.

SEGGER also offers a free cross-platform GDB Server for J-Link which opens the whole GDB world to PIC32 users, allowing them to use any GDB-based debug solution (e.g. emIDE and Eclipse) with J-Link. Of course, all J-Link features like direct download into flash memory, unlimited number of breakpoints in flash memory are also supported for debugging via GDB.

“Microchip has built a loyal customer base and continues to innovate with their latest PIC32 MCUs. We at SEGGER are excited to bring a better debugging experience to this community with the J-Link line of debug probes which offer unique features, such as, unlimited flash breakpoints, very high download speed, and direct download into flash memory,” says Alexander Gruener, Product Manager of the SEGGER J-Link family of debug probes.

“We are excited that PIC32 support is now available to J-Link debug probe users. The excellent features provided by SEGGER’s J-Link will further enable customers to exploit the leadership performance, code efficiency and integration of our 32-bit PIC32 microcontroller portfolio, to develop innovative and cost-effective solutions," says Derek Carlson, Microchip’s vice president of Development Tools.

More information on J-Link is available at: www.segger.com/jlink.html

About J-Link

The SEGGER J-Link is the most popular debug probe on the market. It is tool chain independent and works with free GDB-based tool chains such as emIDE and Eclipse, as well as commercial IDEs from: Microchip (MPLAB® X), Atmel, Atollic, Coocox, Cosmic, Freescale, IAR, KEIL, Mentor Graphics, Python, Rowley, Renesas, Tasking and others. With the J-Link family, investments in the debug probe are preserved when changing compiler or even CPU architecture.

J-Link supports multiple CPU families, such as ARM 7, 9, 11, Cortex-M0, M0+, M1, M3, M4, R4, A5, A8, A9 as well as Renesas RX100, RX200, RX610, 620, 62N, 62T, 630, 631, 63N and Microchip PIC32; there is no need to buy a new J-Link or new license when switching to a different yet supported CPU family or tool-chain. SEGGER is also continuously adding support for additional cores, which in most cases, only requires a software/firmware update. Unlimited free updates are included with even the baseline model of the J-Link family. SEGGER is excited to continue advanced development of its cutting edge embedded tool solutions to be utilized with pretty much any development environment you choose. All J-Links are fully compatible to each other, so an upgrade from a lower-end model to a higher-end model is a matter of a simple plug-and-play.

Full product specifications are available at: www.segger.com/jlink.html
The J-Link-Software is available at: www.segger.com/download_jlink.html
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