Hybrid Debugger Software on RISC-V MCU : A no cost debugging solution foreducational use

Abstract: This work details the implementation of a debugger for a small embedded RISC-V system. KTH uses an in-house designed microcontroller development board for computer and electronics design courses. The boards did not incorporate hardware debugging capabilities and no prior software implementation fulfilled the requirements for the specific target system. The debugger used a hybrid software and hardware approach for achievingbasic debugging features such as breakpoints, stepping and break signals. The hybrid approach repurposed the microcontrollers debug module to enable debugging with no external hardware. The debugger implementation met all of the requirements for being ableto be used in the intended educational setting, and had a limited footprint withregard to resource usage, but with room for further optimization.