[PennRobotics]

I just tried on a microcontroller target.

Some instructions cause a ghidra.pcode.exec.PcodeExecutionException but can be manually skipped.

I can get to the same stopping points as a commercial simulator, but nothing is displayed in the Stack window in the Ghidra debugger and single stepping ignoring side effects (mostly for cpsie/cpsid/isb/dsb/msr/mrs op codes) takes 10 or 15 seconds for each skipped instruction. Watches on complex variable types (ListItem_t *) are clearly displayed wrong (value { 38 }) and I'd prefer watches to disappear when they're not in scope. I must be doing something wrong because I can step through the machine code but would prefer to step through each C++ line without using line-by-line breakpoints, and I don't know if that exists or how to set it up.

Right now, it's easier for me to use a commercial debugger/simulator; it shows the call history, variables are displayed properly once I import their structure, browsing SRAM is fast/intuitive, MCU peripheral registers are displayed/changed on a single screen with a few clicks or keystrokes (even after importing the SVD into Ghidra), op codes don't need to be skipped (so the processor handles the stack, privilege states, and core/system registers correctly).

Also, the default debugger windows in Ghidra are bonkers. The entire left side shows meaningless data. The right side has tabs for windows I'd like to see simultaneously (memory and decompilation). I'd also rather have multiple child windows for different memory ranges, since FreeRTOS and application variables are interspersed in the code but separated in RAM. The bottom panel is useless for me except for Stack (which is empty) and Watches. On a laptop, the whole UI is cramped. It's easy to change this, but I'd rather just have a useful workflow as an opinionated default.

When I can export what I've manually decompiled to DWARF, I'm more comfortable in a commercial Arm debugger than in gdb or anything that looks/feels like an Eclipse IDE debugger.

There's a lot of potential. That is obvious. I do wonder if I'm missing something; if changing the emulator/backend or the right tool setting will unlock nirvana. I also feel like I'm dropping the ball by not opening issues, but I'm sure there are plenty of Ghidra users trying to analyze Arm Cortex who have the same stumbling blocks as me but perhaps more free time.