JPH04304534A - Debugging system for terminal equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To efficiently improve a debugging operation by canceling the troublesomeness of a debugging due to the small scale of a display screen. CONSTITUTION:A handy terminal 40 is equipped with a serial controller 45 which allows data to be transferred between the serial controller 45 and an outside terminal 47 for debugging. Then, the input and output of the handy terminal 40 is divided into that for debugging and that for the command of an application program, and debugging information is displayed and inputted to the terminal 47 for debugging through a serial port or a generaal I/O port.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention is a handy terminal (
The present invention relates to a debugging method for terminals that facilitates debugging of devices such as portable terminals.

0002

[Prior Art] Terminal devices can be roughly classified into general-purpose terminal devices and dedicated terminal devices.
They are designed for special purposes, emphasizing convenience and efficiency for specific operations, and include banking, insurance, securities, transportation, services, distribution, and production management. In the distribution industry, it is important to collect data related to products in a timely manner, process them, and link them to future product sales, and systemization for this purpose is progressing. For example, a portable terminal device is used as a terminal device for the distribution industry, and this portable terminal device is a portable device used for inputting data at door-to-door sales locations and inputting inventory data in stores, warehouses, etc. A mobile phone that can be held and operated with one hand is also called a handy terminal. The input data is directly transmitted to the host device through the telephone line.

[0003] An example of a conventional handy terminal of this type is the one shown in FIG. In this figure, 11 is a handy terminal, and the main body 11a of the handy terminal includes a switch 12 for turning on/off the main body power, a keyboard 13 consisting of a numeric keypad 13a and function keys 13b such as operation keys, and a predetermined execution screen and input screen. It is comprised of a liquid crystal display section 14 for displaying data, etc., a contrast adjustment switch 15 for adjusting the contrast of the display screen, and an interrupt key 16 for instructing to interrupt work.

[0004] In this way, the conventional handheld terminal
In consideration of portability, the display unit 14 is configured with a display section 14 having the minimum display content necessary for executing an application program, and a keyboard 13 with a minimum size.

[0005]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional debugging method of such a terminal, the configuration was such that only the minimum required display screen and keyboard were provided, so it was difficult to easily access debugging information during debugging. There was a problem that input/output could not be performed. For example, Figure 7 shows the display screen when debugging on Handy Terminal 11.
As shown in FIG. 7, when the "business menu" shown at 21 in FIG. 7 is displayed on the display screen, if the interrupt key 16 is operated to interrupt it (see 22), then the "business menu" shown at 21 in FIG. As shown in , part of the business menu disappears and “B” appears.
"reak" command is displayed and debugging becomes possible.However, as the display screen is small, as shown by numeral 23 in FIG. 7, the previously displayed execution screen disappears, making debugging very difficult. This is an execution screen of an application program, and as shown in numerals 22 and 23, the application program is interrupted during execution,
As shown at 24, the BASIC LIST command has just been executed. Reference numeral 25 indicates the execution result of the LIST instruction. In addition, a keyboard 13 as shown in FIG.
In this case, it is not actually possible to input the LIST command, and in the handy terminal 11 having such a keyboard 13, it is necessary to attach an external keyboard to perform key input. In this case, even if the key input problem can be resolved, the difficulty in viewing the display cannot be resolved. Therefore, conventional in-circuit emulators (ICE)
ter) into the CPU socket of a handy terminal in place of the original CPU, and debugging with the ICE terminal is sometimes adopted. Figure 8 shows I
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a debugging method using CE. In this figure, a CPU socket 31 on the handy terminal side to which a cable for an in-circuit emulator installed in place of the original CPU can be connected has a ROM/RA
M32, keyboard 33 and display section 34 are connected. In addition, 35 is an in-circuit emulator (ICE
), the ICE35 is equipped with a keyboard 36 and a display section 37 for the ICE, and a CPU extended from the ICE35.
By connecting the tip of the probe 38 to the CPU socket 31 of the handy terminal, some of the functions of the handy terminal are performed.

Although this method allows for powerful debugging, it requires that the CPU be a socket (usually it is not a socket), requires an expensive dedicated ICE, and is difficult to debug at the application level. There are drawbacks such as. In this case, the input and output of the handy terminal can be separated into those for debugging and those generated by application program instructions, and the debugging information can be displayed and input to the debugging terminal via the serial port or general-purpose I/O port. It is clear that if this is done, debugging information can be easily input and output when debugging the actual device using a handy terminal. The problem of the present invention is to
It is possible to input and output debug information to and from a debug terminal via a serial port or general-purpose I/O port.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems The means of the present invention are as follows. The key input means 1 (see the functional block diagram of FIG. 1; the same applies hereinafter) is a keyboard provided with the minimum number of function keys necessary for executing an application program, such as a keyboard, a numeric keypad, and an execution key. The calculation means 2 is a CPU or the like that executes calculation processing of a predetermined program (for example, an application program) based on data input by the key input means 1. The display means 3 is for displaying data corresponding to input keys and an execution screen of an application program on a predetermined display screen, and is, for example, an LCD. The communication means 4 is a serial controller, an RS-232C interface, etc. that enables data transmission and reception with an external debugging terminal 5. The debugging terminal 5 is a simple terminal that only displays debugging information or sends input data to the terminal to be debugged, and can be a personal computer or the like.

[0008]

[Operation] The operation of the means of the present invention is as follows. The calculation means 2 executes a predetermined program calculation process based on the data inputted by the key input means 1, and the execution screen is displayed on the display means 3. During debugging, the communication means 4 outputs debugging information to the debugging terminal 5, and the debugging information is displayed on the debugging terminal 5. Therefore, debug information can be transferred to a serial port or
It can input and output to a debugging terminal via the o port.

[0009]

[Embodiment] An embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5. 2 to 5 are diagrams illustrating an embodiment of a debugging method for a terminal.

First, the configuration will be explained. In this diagram,
41 is a CPU that controls the entire handy terminal device and performs various data processing including keyboard display processing and keyboard display setting processing, which will be described later.
Reference numeral 1 controls various operations of the handy terminal 40 according to microprograms stored in a ROM, which will be described later. The CPU 41 includes a ROM/RAM 42 for storing predetermined programs, fixed data, and processing data, a keyboard 43 equipped with a numeric keypad, various operation keys, etc., and a display section 44 for displaying predetermined execution screens, character data, etc.
It is composed of a serial controller 45 that controls data conversion and the like for transmitting and receiving data to and from the outside through an interface such as S-232C. The display screen of the display unit 44 and the keyboard 43 are used in executing an application program. The handy terminal 40 is connected to a debugging terminal (for example, a personal computer) 47 via a cable 46, and the debugging terminal 47 displays data sent from the handy terminal 40 on a display section 48. , and sends predetermined data and input data input from the keyboard 49 to the handy terminal 40. The debugging terminal 47 is a simple terminal that performs only the operation of displaying debugging information sent from the handy terminal 40 or sending it to the handy terminal 40, and a personal computer or the like can be used.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained. 3 and 4 are flowcharts showing the character display and key input processing of the handy terminal, and the symbols Sn (n1,
2,...) indicate each step of the flow.

First, in step S1 in FIG. 3, it is determined whether or not the current mode is in the debugging mode. If the current mode is not in the debugging mode, it is determined that the application program is being executed, and in step S2, the handheld terminal 40 The normal screen is displayed on the display unit 44 of the computer, and the processing of this flow ends. On the other hand, when the current mode is in the debug mode, it is determined that debugging is in progress, and in step S3, the serial controller 45 connects the handy terminal 40 to the debugging mode via the general-purpose I/O port (not shown).
Outputs debug information (for example, list commands) to the debug terminal 47 from the debug terminal 4.
7 displays the debug information sent from the handy terminal 40 on the display section 48 and ends the process. Further, when a key is input, the flow shown in FIG. 4 starts, and first, in step S11, it is determined whether the current mode is in the debugging mode or not, and if it is not in the debugging mode, it is determined that the application program is being executed. After determining that, in step S12, the keyboard 33 of the handy terminal 40
This completes the processing of this flow by performing normal key input. On the other hand, when the current mode is in the debugging mode, it is determined that debugging is in progress, and input from the keyboard 49 of the debugging terminal 47 is sent to the predetermined interface and serial controller 45 in step S13.
It is accepted on the handheld terminal 40 side.

By executing the above processing, a remote debugging execution screen as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed. In FIG. 5, numerals 51 to 53 indicate the display screens of the handy terminal 40, and numerals 54 to 56 indicate the display screens of the handy terminal 40.
Debug terminal 47 corresponding to screens 51 to 53 of
This is an example in which the same debugging operation as in FIG. 7 is performed. Reference numeral 51 is an execution screen of the handy terminal 40 while an application program is being executed, and reference numeral 54 is a display screen of the debugging terminal 47 at this time. If the handheld terminal 40 is interrupted for debugging in this state, the execution screen of the application program will not disappear for debugging and will remain as it is on the screen of the handy terminal 40, as shown by reference numeral 52, while the screen of the debugging terminal 47 will remain unchanged. Brea on top
k (interrupt) is displayed and debugging input becomes possible. Then, while looking at the screen of the debugging terminal 47, input the LIST command from the keyboard 49 and execute it, and the execution result will be displayed on the screen of the handy terminal 40, as is the execution screen of the previous application program, as shown at 56. Ru.

As explained above, in this embodiment, the handy terminal 40 is provided with a serial controller 45 that enables data transmission and reception with an external debugging terminal 47, and the input/output of the handy terminal 40 is connected to the debugging terminal 47. The debugging information is displayed and input to the debugging terminal 47 via the serial port or general-purpose I/O port, so the application screen and debugging screen are separated. Since both screens can be viewed at the same time, debugging can be performed while looking at the screen status, and there is also the advantage that input can be freely made from the debugging terminal 47, making it suitable for use in debugging portable information equipment.

[0015]

According to the present invention, during debugging, debugging information is output to an external debugging terminal and the debugging information is displayed on the debugging terminal. It is possible to eliminate the difficulty of debugging and improve the efficiency of debugging work.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a debugging method of a terminal.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a program for displaying characters in a debugging method of a terminal;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a key input program for debugging the terminal;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a screen during debugging of a terminal device debugging method.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the appearance of the handy terminal.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a debugging screen of a conventional terminal device debugging method.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a conventional terminal debugging method.

[Explanation of symbols]

40 Handy terminal 41 CPU 42 ROM/RAM 43 Keyboard 44 Display section 45 Serial controller 46 Cable 47 Debug terminal 48 Display section 49 Keyboard

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: Key input means for inputting data by operating keys; arithmetic means for executing arithmetic processing of a predetermined program based on data input by the key input means; and displaying input data and processed data. A debugging method for a terminal device, wherein the terminal device is provided with a communication means that enables data transmission and reception with an external debugging terminal, and when debugging, . A debugging method for a terminal, characterized in that debugging information is output to the debugging terminal and the debugging information is displayed by the debugging terminal.