11.1 IDE Scripting

MPLAB X IDE provides scripting capabilities to control the IDE behavior programmatically. 32-bit SAM microprocessor (MPU) projects in particular need to use scripts to support bootstrapping (autoload.py). However, scripts can be used with MCU projects as well.

The scripts are written in Jython. The scripts have access to an API that allows you to:

• Control the debugging session state (run, halt, etc.).
• Access memory in the device while debugging.
• Set breakpoints with callbacks to functions that determine if a halt should happen or not. This allows implementation of conditional breakpoints.
• Place actions in the Projects window which, when clicked, will run methods in a script.
• Provide hooks for debug events: a function will be called when a given event happens.