Debug Platforms
AVR Studio can be targeted towards the built-in AVR Simulator, or an AVR In-Circuit Emulator (bought separately). When the user opens a file, AVR Studio automatically detects whether an Emulator is present and available on one of the systems serial ports. If an Emulator is found, it is selected as the debug platform. If no Emulator is found, debugging will be done on the built-in AVR Simulator instead.

Platform Independent Debug Environment
Independent of which debug platform is running, the AVR Studio environment will appear identical. When switching between debug platforms, all environment options are kept for the new platform.

Differences between Platforms
Although all debug platforms appear identical in the debug environment there will be small differences between them. A real-time emulator will be significantly faster than the simulator. An emulator will also allow debugging while the system is connected to the actual hardware environment, while the simulator only allow predefined stimulus to be applied. In the simulator, all registers are always potentially availble to be displayed, which might not be the case with an emulator. While the AVR Studio User's Guide describe the general behaviour of AVR Studio, these differences are thoroughly described in the platform's User Guide.

Status Bar
The Status bar always indicate whether debugging is targeted at the AVR In-Circuit Emulator or the built-in AVR Simulator. A message alerting the user also appear when switcing between debug platforms.

See Also
Simulator User's Guide
ICEPRO Emulator User's Guide
ICE200 Emulator User's Guide
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