4.1 Quick Debug/Program Reference

The following table is a quick reference for using the MPLAB PICkit Basic In-Circuit Debugger as either a debugging or programming tool.

Table 4-1. Debug vs. Program Operation

Item	Debug	Program
Needed Hardware	A computer, a target board (Microchip demo board or your own design), cable(s) and an optional adapter board to connect the computer to the target.
	Debug Tool, USB cable, target power supply.
	Device with on-board debug circuitry.	Device (with or without on-board debug circuitry).
Needed Software	MPLAB X IDE	MPLAB X IDE or MPLAB IPE.
	Application code (example code, i.e., from MPLAB Discover, or your own code).	Prebuilt code - Hex file.
MPLAB X IDE selection	Project Properties, PICkit Basic as Hardware Tool.
	Debug Main Project icon .	Make and Program Device icon .
Program Operation	Programs application code into the device. Depending on the selections on the Project Properties dialog, this can be any range of program memory. In addition, a small debug executive may be placed in program memory and other debug resources may be reserved.	Programs application code into the device. Depending on the selections on the Project Properties dialog, this can be any range of program memory.
Debug Features Available	All for device – breakpoints, etc.	N/A
Serial Quick-Time Programming (SQTP)	N/A	Use the MPLAB IPE to generate the SQTP file.
Command-line Operation	Use MDB command line utility, found by default in C:\Program Files\Microchip\ MPLABX\vx.xx\mplab_platform\bin\mdb.bat.	Use IPECMD, found by default in C:\Program Files\Microchip\ MPLABX\vx.xx\mplab_platform\mplab_ipe\ipecmd.exe.