Debug JTAG aka "dbgjtag"

What is it?

dbgjtag is a command line tool designed to help debug connectivity problems with JTAG. It can be used for:

Debugging JTAG scan chain problems
Finding out how many JTAG TAPs are in your scan chain
Finding the length of the JTAG TAPs
Repetitively testing the scan chain with bit patterns to test the reliability of the scan chain.

Where can I get this utility?

dbgjtag is available in the below directories (depending on where CCS is installed):
- C:\CCStudio_3.3\cc\bin directory (for CCS 3.3)
- C:\Program Files\Texas Instruments\ccsv4\common\uscif (for CCS4)

Where can I find the documentation on this utility?

The user's guide can be found here

The help manual can also be viewed by typing "dbgjtag -H manual" in a DOS shell at the command prompt while in the \ti\cc\bin directory.

What do I need to use this utility?

You need:

CCS installed (any version)
XDS100, XDS510, and XDS560 emulator installed. Note that some 3rd parties products may not work with dbgjtag such as Spectrum Digital. However, Spectrum Digital provides an excellent tool called "SDconfig" which helps perform similar functions.

How do I use it?

See Debugging JTAG Connectivity Problems

Some additional examples for Code Composer Studio v4, from the ccsv\common\uscif directory.

Reset emulator and do basic scan path length tests (measure IR and DR paths)

dbgjtag -f <board config file> -rv -Spathlength

Reset emulator and perform basic scan tests

dbgjtag -f <board config file> -rv -Sgivendata,repeat=10

Reset emulator and perform scan tests ad infinitum ad nauseum.

dbgjtag -f <board config file> -rv -Sgivendata,repeat=0

where <board config file> = board config file. See the Locating the board configuration file section below for instructions on how to find this file.

You should create the board config file first, then copy it to the ccsv4\common\uscif so you don’t have to specify the path or worry about launching a different configuration and losing it.

Locating the board configuration file

The board configuration file is created by the debugger when the debug session is initially launched. Depending on the version of CCS you are using, the file will be created in one of two places.

For versions of CCS prior to v4.2 M9, the board config file will be called ccBoard0.dat and located in: <install dir>\ccsv4\DebugServer\bin\win32\BrdDat.

For versions of CCS starting with v4.2 M9and higher, the ccBoard0.dat file is located in a user and installation specific folder.

On Windows:

To find the file, simply open a command prompt, change to the directory and search for the <ccBoard0.dat> file.

C:\> cd C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\.TI
C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\.TI> dir ccBoard0.dat /s
Volume in drive C is USER
Volume Serial Number is ABCD-EFGH

Directory of C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\.TI\2079738214\0\0\BrdDat

12/10/2011  11:10             2.198 ccBoard0.dat
               1 File(s)          2.198 bytes

On Linux

To find the file, simply open a terminal, change to the directory and search for the <ccBoard0.dat> file.

user@host:~$ cd .TI

user@host:~/.TI$ find * -name ccBoard0.dat

2079738214/0/0/BrdDat/ccBoard0.dat

user@host:~/.TI$

Where can I get help on it's options?

You can get help for dbgjtag by typing "dbgjtag -h" to get a brief help.

C:\CCStudio_v3.3\cc\bin>dbgjtag -h

This utility has a version number of '35.24.0.3'.
It was compiled on 'Apr 5 2007' at '12:50:27'.

The brief help for each major option is its help command, [-X help].
The users guide to this utility is 'the-users-guide-to-dbgjtag.pdf'.

The [-f] option is used to select board config files.
The [-X] or [-d] and [-p] options are for emulator selection.
The [-Y] or [-r] and [-v] options are for emulator configuration.

The [-S] option is for scan-path data and instruction tests.
The [-R] option is for scan-path route and matrix tests.
The [-F] option is for scan-path frequency selection.
The [-G] option is for scan-path frequency testing.
The [-A] option is for scan-path device analysis.
The [-T] option is for emulator tests.
The [-U] option is for cable and pod tests.
The [-D] option is for formatting and loading FPGA data.
The [-B] option is for board config file tests.
The [-V] option is for config variable information.
The [-E] option is for interpreting error numbers.
The [-M] option is for miscellaneous stuff.

For a specific option, you can ask for help such as "dbgjtag -S help" to get additional help on a particular option.

C:\CCStudio_v3.3\cc\bin>dbgjtag -S help

The '-S' major option supports scan-path data and instruction tests

This option has a sub-argument that is a comma separated list
of a command and zero or more parameters. The parameters consist
of 'name=value' pairs that may be listed in any order.

-S help
Print this brief help.

-S pathlength,bits=number,irsize=number,drsize=number,
ignore=boolean,analyse=boolean
Measure the length of the DR/IR scan-paths.

-S brokenpath,bits=number,repeat=number
Test the DR/IR scan-paths for breaks.

-S integrity,bits=number,repeat=number
Test the DR/IR scan-paths with fixed data values.

-S givendata,literal=value,bits=number,repeat=number,testcase=number
Test the DR/IR scan-paths with user-specified literal data values.

-S givendata,expand=value,bits=number,repeat=number,testcase=number
Test the DR/IR scan-paths with user-specified expanded data values.