For PC sampling, a device timer is set up to take samples of program execution and display the results in the PC profiling window.

• Requirements
• Clock Setup
• Sampling Setup
• Operation

Requirements

Currently, to use PC sampling your project must be set up for:

• a supported device:
  • PIC18F with data capture – To find out if your device has data capture, please see Hardware Tool Debug Features by Device.
  • PIC24F, PIC24EP
  • dsPIC33FJ, dsPIC33E
  • Note: PIC16F1 devices are NOT supported
• an MPLAB^® XC8 or MPLAB XC16 C Compiler version 1.10 or above

Clock Setup

To set up the clock:

1. Open the Project properties window (File > Project Properties).
2. Click on REAL ICE™ under Categories and select Clock from the Options Categories drop-down box. Ensure this value matches the actual target speed (i.e., as set by the Configuration bits in the code).
3. Click Apply.

Sampling Setup

To set up sampling:

1. Click on REAL ICE under Categories and select Trace and Profiling from the Options Categories drop-down box.
2. Under Data Collection Selection, select PC Sampling.
3. Set up your data file and timer in this window. For reference, see Trace and Profiling Options.
   Note: Ensure the timer you select is not used in your program.
4. Click OK.

Figure 1: PC Sampling – Selection and Setup

Operation

To generate data:

1. Select Window > Debugging > PC Profiling. This will open the PC Profiling window.
2. Run your code and then halt.
3. View the sampling data in the window. Data is only displayed on halt.
4. Right-click in the window to pop up a menu to either clear the data or reload the data.

You may also display this data in the Code Profiling plugin, available for purchase at
MicrochipDirect.com

Figure 2: PC Sampling – PC Profiling Window