The IPE uses the MPLAB® X IDE framework, Microchip Debugger (MDB), and hardware tool interfaces, along with their respective drivers to provide programming capabilities. The following software must be installed on your PC to use the IPE application:
- MPLAB X IDE v1.85 or greater
- The MPLAB X IPE application (installed automatically with MPLAB X IDE)
The IPE is installed as part of the MPLAB X IDE suite. Once you’ve installed MPLAB X, the IPE application can be accessed through the MPLAB X IPE icon on your desktop or startup menu (see the figure). For Microsoft® Windows installations, the IPE must be run as an administrator for all features to be fully functional. To run as an administrator in Windows 7, go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt, right click and select Run as Administrator.
IDE Framework
The IDE provides support for generating and executing unit tests based on its own simple test framework, the CUnit framework, and the CppUnit framework. The CUnit and CppUnit frameworks are open source products that support the development of tests for C and C++ and provide harnesses for running the tests. The IDE supports CUnit and CppUnit unit testing if the frameworks are separately installed on your system.
For more information about downloading and using CUnit:
CUnit
For more information about downloading and using CppUnit:
CppUnit
Hardware Tools
A hardware tool debugs and programs a target device. Examples of hardware tools include In-Circuit Emulators and In-Circuit Debuggers, such as MPLAB X PICkit™ 3, ICD3, and REAL ICE™.