TABLE OF CONTENTS A few simple procedures involving an oscilloscope can help the real-time programmer gain an immediate insight into the dynamics of a running program. This can save a lot of time and pain while debugging. When computers actually break down or the hardware misperforms, an oscilloscope remains the most universal diagnostic tool.
It is important to gain confidence with all new tools in a situation where you don't have too much pressure on you. All too often, the need to use an oscilloscope happens in the middle of a fraught, last-minute debugging session, when little time is available to learn the niceties of trigger-level adjustment. Also it is probably advisable to start with a basic 20 MHz model, which could be an analogue oscilloscope or a small, hand-held LCD model. The normal professional lab kit has become a 500 MHz digital scope, based on fast microprocessors, which can serve as oscilloscope, hardware logic analyser, signal storage scope, and software debugger. Such versatile instruments should not be neglected in the struggle to catch elusive real-time bugs.
An oscilloscope front panel, even for a basic model, can appear very complex at first sight. However, the confusion will soon disappear if you view the parts of the panel separately, and practise using the controls, one by one. Also, if you progress to using a digital storage scope, you will look back at the basic model as a very simple affair.
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