TMS570LS3137: XDS560 Trace Pro

Hi Rafael,

Thanks for the pictures.

Can you please try with some startup routine as .asm ? 

Which kind of coverage can it measure ? Simply the execution or even occurrence of multiple decisions ?

Thanks ahead.

Hi,

I don't have any code with .asm startup routines - the only code I have is with HalCoGen auto-generated software that starts with C source code (HL_sys_startup.c).

Given the Trace is able to capture .asm routines embedded into the TI libraries (as shown in the screenshot of my previous post), I don't see a reason why it would be different with a startup routine.

If you are not seeing debug information, perhaps you could try to use the asmfunc/endasmfunc pair to inform the debugger about the limits of your functions.

Reference at:
downloads.ti.com/.../debugging-assembly-source-stdz0716489.html

The coverage displays the number of function executions, regardless of how they were called or what decisions were made to reach the call.

Additioanl details can be found int he Trace Analyzer User's Guide
www.ti.com/.../litabsmultiplefilelist.tsp

Hope this helps,
Rafael

Hi,

desouza said:

I don't have any code with .asm startup routines - the only code I have is with HalCoGen auto-generated software that starts with C source code (HL_sys_startup.c).

Given the Trace is able to capture .asm routines embedded into the TI libraries (as shown in the screenshot of my previous post), I don't see a reason why it would be different with a startup routine.

In my case Halcogen generates pure .asm files to address the startup of the MCU and other essential stuff, therefore I would like to know if the code coverage of "pure" assembly files (not obtained from compiling .c files) is also supported by the XDS560 Trace Pro. I know that for example the TI compiler can normally support code coverage only for the C-functions.

desouza said:

If you are not seeing debug information, perhaps you could try to use the asmfunc/endasmfunc pair to inform the debugger about the limits of your functions.

Reference at:
downloads.ti.com/.../debugging-assembly-source-stdz0716489.html

The debugging information is not problematic for me, since I can get them in non-real-time even by the basic XDS100v2 probe. I am more interested in the code coverage features because, as mentioned above the TI-compiler and also 3rd party SW tools perform it only for C-code.

desouza said:

The coverage displays the number of function executions, regardless of how they were called or what decisions were made to reach the call.

So, it means that if the function has several branches and I chose only one of them during the call, it returns anyway 100% of coverage just because I executed somehow that function ?

Hopeful to have been clear enough in exposing the doubts. Thanks ahead for replying.

Regards.

desouza said:

I don't see a way to select a single branch of execution with the Trace Code Coverage feature. There are a few restrictions that can be added to the statistics collectors, but I don't see a granularity lower than per .obj or .lib file.  I can try to find additional methods to customize the Code Coverage, but I really can't recall from the top of my head. I will reply here if I find something else. 

Before you try, please consider to call in some program the following function, and suppose that the input is less than 15. Would the tool return the function was 100% exercised even if just 50% of the instructions it contains are executed ? I wonder about the same issue with an equivalent assembly code having some CMP (compare), JMP (then go to...) commands.

int16_t foo(int16_t var)
{
    int16_t stat;

    if (var > 15)
    {
        stat = 1;
    }
    else
    {
        stat = 2;
    }

    return stat;
}

I read that section, and I guess some information is missing about the topics I am interested in:

1) Highlight covered lines in source files. If you check this box, statements that were executed are highlighted in green. Coming back to the previous C-function, if the input var is 14, it detects it as no statement execution but but actually 50% of the function is anyway covered (the other branch is taken).

2) Show Instruction Coverage View. If you need to view which lines in the assembly language generated for your code are covered, check this box, but what when there is no code generating that assembly ("native" .asm code like in my case) ? Is this applicable as well ?

I think the best way to check its behavior is by demo/evaluation.