Arduino IDE 2.3 Brings the Standards-Based Debug Feature Out of Beta
New release, which includes a security patch too, offers initial support for Arm Mbed and ESP32 core debugging.
The Arduino team has announced the release of Arduino IDE 2.3, the latest version of its integrated development environment — and it brings with it a stable release for the debug functionality, which is based on an open standard framework.
"True to our belief in open standards and interoperability, the debug feature is now based on a standard framework documented in the new specifications and guidelines," the Arduino team explains of the feature, which was previously available only in unstable beta form. "As a result, maintainers of Arduino cores can now add debugging for any board and leverage the UI and debugging engine provided by the Arduino IDE."
To prove the idea, the Arduino team has already added debug functionality for all Arm Mbed-based Arduino devices — including the Arduino GIGA R1 WiFi, Portenta H7, Opta, Nano BLE, Nano RP2040 Connect, UNO R4, and Portenta C33. These will be joined, the developers promise, by debug support for devices based around the Espressif ESP32 microcontroller, thanks to a partnership between Arduino and Espressif on adding support in the Arduino-ESP32 core.
"Want to be able to debug your favorite board using IDE 2.3," the Arduino team asks of those interested in using the functionality on devices not yet supported. "Get in touch with the platform developer or, even better, help them by submitting a pull request to implement the new specifications."
Details on the debug specification are available in the Arduino documentation, while Arduino IDE 2.3 can be downloaded from the Arduino website now; even those not interested in the new debug functionality are advised to update, as the new version includes fixes for security vulnerabilities found in earlier releases.