Logic analyzers capture digital signals and display state information, timing information, or both. When testing or troubleshooting electronic equipment, engineers use these instruments to extract microcontroller timing information, monitor sequences of digital events, watch instructions go to and from a microprocessor, and so on. Wherever you need to monitor sequences of bits and bytes, you'll find that a logic analyzer fills the bill. In addition to watching the usual flow of signals on parallel lines, some logic analyzers can decode I~2C, SPI, CAN (controller-area-network), and other serial protocols. And, if you plan to debug an embedded computer, you also can decode instructions so that you can watch the flow of a program, step by step, as op-code abbreviations go by on a screen.
展开▼
