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This software was checked for viruses Last month and was found to contain no viruses.
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Review
This review applies to version 1.3
The latest version of this software will soon be reviewed by our
informers.
Real Pic Simulator allows you to try programs without programming any PIC - you simulate a program with different speeds, see how registers change, simulate some inputs and see what outputs appear, everything you need to check that the program works as it is supposed to do.
This is such a simple program that makes it very easy to achieve anything. The main menu is on the top - “File” for handling projects, “Run” with the debugging options, “Preferences” for changing some options, and finally “Help”. The extreme simplicity could be annoying sometimes - there are only two options in “Preferences”, while it would be better to have more options. For example, registers cannot be seen in binary code, which is convenient in some cases.
Below the main menu there are buttons for the same items in the menu, such as for file handling and debugging. Here one important thing is missing - a button to "step out", to get out of a loop or subroutine. The average code contains branches, calls, and returns, which can be solved with a breakpoint, but this takes an extra time that I would rather save. Indeed, a "step out" function is missing.
In the central part there are tabs - they are Program Memory, EEPROM, Memory Map, Variables, Processor, and Visual. Having opened a file, the assembly code appears in the Program Memory tab for debugging and running. Changes can be seen under the Memory Map tab, arranged by bank and address. There are a few variables under its tab, such as PC (Program Counter), and the number of cycles; it would be better if we could add our own variables, and even a combination of them - for instance, PORTA-PORTB, instead of following each one with the Memory Map tab.
The most useful tab is Visual, which offers a graphical representation of signals - LEDs, displays, and an oscilloscope. It should give us the possibility of seeing everything that happened - sometimes it is difficult to reproduce some results, so it would be nice having every single event that took place since the beginning. You find also input simulators - buttons, a keyboard, and a function generator, useful to see how the system responds for simulated inputs and interruptions. There is also an UART terminal, and a buzzer, which is a good idea. However, it does not sound well, it is almost unrecognizable. I had a simulated version and a real PIC version of the same song, and the simulated version sounds completely different than the real one in each single note. Besides, it was much slower, and even unpleasant.
The developers state that Real Pic Simulator is the fastest simulator in the market, maybe it is because no wiring is required. In other programs such as “Proteus”, from Labcenter Electronics, you need to connect everything explicitly with wires, but here you just click on pins and select a port, and then a pin of the microcontroller. So the speed relies on the simplicity of connecting parts and watching how everything works.
Another missing feature is that the program is limited to only one processor at a time, instead of having a simulation of a group of microcontrollers. Bots of RoboCup rely on communicating with each other as a human soccer team does, or those modules that can work according to their position and that of the other modules.
Real Pic Simulator is OK. It can help you check the functionality of a PIC, but has some deficiencies. It is advisable, for future versions, to have more devices in the Visual tab, more terminals and mechanical parts, and improve the ones that exist. But mainly, multiple processor simulation, and more chips available, like those of the PIC18 series. So far, version 1.3 can be useful, and developers say there will be more - we will see. |
- It is simple to use and understand.
- Visual tab contains interesting tools.
- Memory and variables are easy to see and follow.
- Wiring is not required.
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- There is no "step out" function.
- It supports only PIC10Fxxx, PIC12Fxxxx, and PIC16Fxxxx.
- Many modern processors are not available.
- Devices in Visual tab are too few.
- There is no way to see the entire history of the oscilloscope.
- There is no "Close Project" option.
- Sound of the buzzer is not good, and it is disgusting.
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Reviewed by: Victor Hugo Buezo Nistahuz Reviewer rating: Reviewed: Last year
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What's new in version 1.3
Real Pic Simulator 1.3
Release date: April,10 2010
* fixed: save button type to project file for "Push button"
* fixed: save oscilloscope trigger info to project file
* fixed: save "Function generator" pause state to project file
* fixed: LCD 4-bit read problem
* fixed: "UART Terminal" error if no serial ports present
* fixed: decode CLRW instruction*fixed: some 12-bit devices FSR
* fixed: buzzer on windows7, also improved
* fixed: notation for "Next/Prev follow Up/Down"*added: option to preserve EEPROM on reset
* added: save settings (like radix and "preserve EEPROM")
* added: more example projects
* improved: Interrupt-on-change for all devices (that have it)
* improved: can edit RAM values in "Memory map"
* improved: "Note" visual component is sizeable |
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