Bdm vs Ice

BDM vs ICE

BDM is better for many processors for the following reasons

1. The BDM has an advanced serial debugging interfaces, it uses only one MCU pin

2. It allows for robust communication

3. Allows the host to detect and adapt to the speed of the target MCU through the communication protocol

4. It is used for programming flash memory and can gain access to a target system even if the flash memory is blank or secured

On the contrary, the following problems are associated with external In circuit Emulator

1. It uses many MCU pins, there are not enough pins on small devices

2. There is imperfect emulation

3. The umbilical cable is awkward, expensive, noisy, and capacitive and Can’t fit in tight places, it also affects loading and timing (very difficult to run reliably at full speed)

4. There are problems keeping up with faster bus speeds and smaller packages

5. It is more expensive

6. It is difficult to trace the source of a problem whether from the ICE or the computer

4b. In-Circuit Serial Programming (ICSP) is used to serially program Microchip’s PIC family of microcontrollers it allows customers to manufacture boards with unprogrammed devices and then program the microcontroller just before shipping the product. This also allows the most recent firmware or a custom firmware to be programmed. ICSP is designed specifically for microchip’s PIC devices. While Background Debug Mode (BDM) is also used for serial programming of MCUs unlike ICSP, BDM it is not vendor specific (not limited to a vendor) it has advanced serial debugging interfaces, it uses only one MCU pin and allows robust communication. It allows the host to detect and adapt to the speed of the target MCU through the communication protocol it is used for programming flash memory and can gain access to a target system even if the flash memory is blank or secured.