QNX Momentics IDE User's Guide
This User's Guide describes version 8.0 of the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that's part of the QNX Tool Suite.
- Working with QNX Momentics IDE
  QNX Momentics IDE provides a graphical environment for developing, running, debugging, and profiling applications.
- Developing Projects with the IDE
  To use the QNX Momentics IDE to write applications targeted for QNX OS systems, you must define projects, which are containers that store your source code, configuration files, and binary files.
- Debugging Applications
  The IDE allows you to debug a running application, a library used by the application, or a core file.
- Unit Testing
  The IDE lets you use commercial test frameworks to write unit tests and then execute them by launching a project. While running a test program, you can use the Code Coverage tool to determine how much of the code is exercised (covered) by your tests.
- Analyzing Memory Usage and Finding Memory Problems
  QNX Momentics IDE lets you run Memory Analysis and several Valgrind (pronounced val-grinned) tools to find memory problems such as leaks and corruption, and to measure memory usage of programs. It also provides the QNX System Information perspective so you can learn which processes are consuming memory or other resources excessively.
- Analyzing Performance
  QNX Momentics IDE works with the Application Profiler and Valgrind (pronounced val-grinned) Cachegrind tools, which measure the performance of programs running on QNX targets. It also offers the QNX System Information perspective for viewing performance-related metrics.
- Analyzing System Behavior
  Many IDE tools allow you to find errors and optimize applications, but to ensure that your embedded system behaves well, you need to use system-wide diagnostic tools. The QNX System Information and QNX System Profiler tools help you understand process and thread interaction on the target, reduce application and system startup times, and debug deadlock and improper CPU usage levels.
- Building QNX OS Images
  Using the IDE's QNX System Builder feature, you can generate OS images, which are bootable images that contain startup code, the QNX OS, your applications, and any data files used by your applications. The IDE supports image building by allowing you to transfer an image to a target board.
- Reference
  The reference topics provide information about QNX Momentics IDE features and workflows that isn't covered in the chapters related to developing projects or debugging, testing, and analyzing applications.
- JTAG: Debugging with Lauterbach TRACE32
  The Lauterbach TRACE32® In-Circuit Debugger (TRACE32-ICD) supports the JTAG onchip interface so you can perform hardware debugging of QNX OS systems through the QNX Momentics IDE.
  - Prerequisites
    There are hardware and software requirements for the Lauterbach TRACE32 In-Circuit Debugger.
  - Installing the Lauterbach TRACE32 In-Circuit Debugger software
    To use the TRACE32-ICD either stand-alone or as a TCF agent, you have to install the appropriate software on your host. It's recommended to use the latest TRACE32 software version. For TCF, use at least the February 2016 version.
  - Installing the Target Communication Framework (TCF) in the IDE
    The TCF is an Eclipse framework designed for simplifying communication between development tools and embedded devices. This extensible, vendor-agnostic framework allows you to use the TRACE32-ICD through the IDE to debug QNX OS targets.
  - Installing the TRACE32 TCF Eclipse plugin
    Lauterbach offers an Eclipse plugin that lets you configure the TRACE32-ICD through a debug configuration created in the IDE. This is simpler than using a configuration file or the T32Start program.
  - Building applications and an OS image for TRACE32-ICD debugging
    The TRACE32-ICD needs debug symbols to debug an OS image and the applications within it. To provide these symbols, you must modify the buildfile of your QNX System Builder project to include the debug versions of application binaries and to create symbol files for the startup script and QNX OS microkernel, procnto.
  - Creating a TRACE32 startup script
    To work with the TRACE32-ICD, you need to configure it for your specific hardware and OS image. You can automate the configuration by creating a startup script.
  - Creating a launch configuration for debugging an OS image
    When you install the TRACE32 TCF plugin in the IDE, a new launch configuration type is added. You can then create a configuration of this type to use the TRACE32-ICD on a QNX OS image.
  - Starting a TRACE32-ICD debugging session
    When the QNX OS image is running on your target, the TRACE32 TCF plugin is installed in the IDE, and you've created a debug configuration, you're ready to debug your target using the TRACE32-ICD.
QNX Software Development Platform
QNX SDP is a cross-compiling and debugging environment, including an IDE and command-line tools, for building binary images and programs for target boards running the QNX OS 8.0.
QNX Software in the Cloud
QNX Software in the Cloud enables developers to use the QNX OS in the Amazon cloud environment.
QNX Toolkit for Visual Studio Code
This User's Guide describes the QNX^® Toolkit for Visual Studio Code. The guide introduces you to the QNX Toolkit by explaining the QNX development environment and how to build, run, and debug your QNX^® Operating System (OS) applications and systems.
QNX Hypervisor User's Guide
This User's Guide explains the QNX hypervisor architecture and provides instructions for installing and running a QNX Hypervisor system, changing system components and configuration, and using hypervisor features such as virtual devices (vdevs).
Typographical Conventions, Support, and Licensing
This section describes the typographical conventions used throughout the documentation, explains how to obtain technical support, and provides some information about licensing.

Building applications and an OS image for TRACE32-ICD debugging

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The TRACE32-ICD needs debug symbols to debug an OS image and the applications within it. To provide these symbols, you must modify the buildfile of your QNX System Builder project to include the debug versions of application binaries and to create symbol files for the startup script and QNX OS microkernel, procnto.

To prepare a QNX OS image for TRACE32-ICD debugging:

Build debug versions of any applications that you plan to debug.

From the launch bar, you can select an application project in the launch configuration dropdown, choose either Run or Debug as the launch mode, then click Build ().

From the Project Explorer, you can right-click a project and choose Build Configurations > Set Active > arch-debug (where arch is the target architecture, such as x86_64), then right-click again and choose Build Project.

You should now see the application binaries in the build/arch-debug subdirectories of the projects.
Add the binaries to the buildfile in the QNX System Builder project that defines your OS image.

For each binary, you must list the target path for storing it, followed by an equal sign (=) and its workspace (host) path. You can use environment variables, such as PWD, in the workspace paths.

More information about buildfile syntax and adding content to images is given in the OS Image Buildfiles chapter of Building Embedded Systems.
Request the creation of symbol files for startup and procnto, by adding the [+keeplinked] attribute near the top of the buildfile.

With this attribute enabled, the mkifs or mkefs utility invoked by the IDE creates .sym files for the two components when building the image.
Disable any watchdogs for the startup script or microkernel. This entails removing the watchdog-enabling options and commenting out the wdtkick command.
Build the image by right-clicking the project entry and choosing Build Project.

The images subdirectory then contains the IFS and symbol files.

Page updated: March 05, 2025