11.8 Debugging in Host-As-Target Combinations

11.8.1 Background

In this context, a host/target combination means one of two things. First, it describes schemes where the target system operating system is the same as that of the host. Second, it includes designs where the host itself is used as the target. Both configurations are described below. The first is applicable to target designs that employ operating systems based on standard desktop machines. The second describes the use of the ubiquitous PC as the target machine itself.

The host-as-target idea is not new. One very widely used general-purpose machine in earlier days was the Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) MicroVAX computer. However, nowadays the PC has become the de facto commercial standard. And, as pointed out previously, the PC is also widely used in the industrial market (though generally in a ruggedized form).

At present, the majority of PC platforms are Windows or Linux-based; macOS is rarely seen in mechatronic...