Practical Debugging for Embedded ARM Systems: Core techniques for tracing, profiling, and fixing system-level faults

“Practical Debugging for Embedded ARM Systems is a strong and practical guide to debugging ARM-based microcontrollers.A particularly valuable part of the book is the From Theory to Practice chapter, where these techniques are applied to concrete debugging scenarios." - Amar Mahmutbegovic, Head of Engineering, Semblie

Learn advanced debugging techniques for embedded ARM systems and uncover how to trace, profile, and analyze firmware issues using professional tools in real-world scenarios

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Key Features

• Explore advanced debugging tools like hardware tracing and power profiling
• Learn techniques for analyzing bootloaders, RTOS, and memory issues
• Apply practical debugging workflows based on ARM Cortex-M firmware examples

Book Description

Are you truly unlocking the full potential of your embedded debugging tools? This hands-on guide cuts through the confusion of common workflows and shows you how to trace, profile, and debug ARM-based systems like a professional firmware engineer.

Written by an industry expert, this book guides you through practical debugging scenarios using real hardware setups. You’ll explore both essential and advanced techniques, from setting breakpoints and analyzing memory to using hardware tracing, power profiling, and RTOS awareness. Through real-world crash analysis, you'll learn how to detect stack overflows, communication errors, memory leaks, and more.

You will explore practical examples based on ARM Cortex-M target devices, which help you build structured and efficient debugging workflows. The learned skills can then be easily applied to other chip architectures as well. You’ll walk away with a clear understanding of the tools available, how to apply them in complex firmware projects, and the confidence to tackle even the most elusive bugs in production systems.

Whether you’re refining your setup or debugging embedded systems at scale, this book will sharpen your skills and elevate your embedded development workflow.

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What you will learn

• Set up a debugging workflows for ARM-based embedded systems
• Trace firmware execution using hardware tools
• Analyze stack, memory, and registers
• Debug bootloaders and bare-metal applications confidently
• Identify issues with power, interrupts, or RTOS
• Detect memory leaks
• Apply crash analysis techniques in real-world scenarios
• Use live symbol tracking and code profiling tools

Who this book is for

This book is ideal for embedded developers and firmware engineers working with ARM-based systems who want to improve their debugging workflows. It is not just a beginner’s guide, but a practical resource for those already familiar with building and programming embedded firmware. Whether you’re debugging bootloaders, analyzing RTOS behavior, or using advanced hardware tools, this book will help you streamline your workflow and solve complex issues with confidence.

Table of Contents

1. A Brief History of Embedded Systems Debugging
2. What Is Debugging and Why Should You Care?
3. Basic Debugging Features
4. Advanced Debugging Features
5. From Theory to Practice

Nino Vidović is a senior software engineer and product owner at SEGGER Microcontroller GmbH, specializing in embedded systems and real-time application debugging. He manages the J-Trace product line, crucial for enhancing developers' efficiency and accuracy. Nino earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Microsystems Engineering from the IMTEK Institute at the University of Freiburg and conducted advanced research in MEMS engineering at the Fraunhofer IMS. He also spearheads the SEGGER Educational Partnership Program, bridging academia and industry. Nino's technical expertise is complemented by his dedication to education, driving innovation while empowering the next generation of engineers.