Motorola MBX Series, Installation And Use Manual

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3 EPPCBug Firmware
Firmware Overview
The PowerPC debugger, EPPCBug, is a versatile tool for evaluating and
debugging systems built around Motorola PowerPC microcomputers. Its
primary uses are to test and initialize the board hardware, determine the
hardware configuration, and boot the operating system. Facilities are also
available for loading and executing user programs under complete operator
control for system evaluation.
The PowerPC debugger provides a high degree of functionality and user
friendliness, stressing portability and ease of maintenance. It is written
entirely in the C programming language, except where necessary to use
assembler functions in the form of separately compiled assembly language
program modules containing only assembler code. No mixed-language
modules are used.
EPPCBug includes commands for display and modification of memory,
breakpoint and tracing capabilities, a powerful assembler and disassembler
useful for patching programs, and self tests which verify the integrity of the
main CPU board. Various EPPCBug routines that handle I/O, data
conversion, and string functions are available to user programs through the
system call handler.
EPPCBug consists of three parts:
❏
A command-driven user-interactive software debugger. It is
hereafter referred to as “the debugger” or “EPPCBug.”
❏
A set of command-driven diagnostics, which is hereafter referred
to as “the diagnostics.”
❏
A user interface which accepts commands from the system
console terminal.
EPPCBug is similar to previous Motorola firmware debugging packages
(e.g., MVME147Bug, MVME167Bug, MVME187Bug, PPCBug), with
differences due to microprocessor architectures. These are primarily