Online Help System

Avrora has an extensive built-in help system that is accessible directly from the command line. Input formats, actions, monitors, and other extension points each have a subcategory that explains their usage, and each command line option is documented in detail, including its type and default value.

The complete help system is mirrored on this website for your convenience. For more information about individual help items that are available:

  • all - A listing of all subcategories.
  • actions - A listing of all actions, with descriptions.
  • inputs - Help for supported input formats.
  • monitors - Lists all supported monitors, including short descriptions.
  • simulations - Help for different simulation types.

When Avrora is run without any parameters or if the -help option is specified without any parameters, it will print out a main help page that include the main options and a list of subcategories. 

% avrora -help 
Avrora [Beta 1.6.0] - (c) 2003-2005 UCLA Compilers Group

Usage: avrora [-action=action] [options] 
Usage: avrora -help [category]

OVERVIEW

    Avrora is a tool for working with assembly language programs for the AVR
architecture microcontrollers and building simulations of hardward devices
based on this microcontroller.It contains tools to read AVR programs in
multiple formats, perform actions on them, and generate output in multiple
formats.
    Typical usage is to specify a list of files that contain a program in some
format supported by Avrora and then specifying the action to perform on that
program. For example, giving the name of a file that contains a program
written in assembly language and a simulate action might look like: 
    
    avrora -action=simulate -input=atmel program.asm 
    
    Other actions that are available include generating a control flow graph
of the program or running one of the analysis tools on the program. See the
actions section for more information.

OPTIONS

    The main options to Avrora specify the action to be performed as well as
the input format and any general configuration parameters for Avrora. The
available main options are listed below along with their types and default
values. Each action also has its own set of options. To access help for the
options related to an action, specify the name of the action along with the
"help" option.

    -action: string = simulate
        This option selects the action to perform. For example, an
        action might be to load a program into the simulator and run
        it. For more information, see the section on actions.
    -banner: boolean = true
        This option is used to enable or disable the printing of the
        banner.
    -colors: boolean = true
        This option is used to enable or disable the terminal colors.
    -config-file: string = 
        This option can be used to specify a file that contains
        additional command line options to Avrora. Any command-line
        option can be specified in this file. For repeated runs with
        similar options, the common options can be stored in this file
        for use over multiple runs. Options are processed in the
        following order: 
           1) The .avrora file in your home directory 
           2) A configuration file specified on the command line 
           3) Command line options to Avrora
    -help: boolean = false
        Displays this help message.
    -html: boolean = false
        For terminal colors. Display terminal colors as HTML tags for
        easier inclusion in webpages.
    -input: string = auto
        This option selects among the available program formats as
        input to Avrora. For example, the default input format,
        "atmel" selects the assembly language format supported by
        Atmel's assembler.
    -license: boolean = false
        Display the detailed copyright and license text.
    -status: boolean = true
        This option enables and disables printing of status
        information, for example when the simulator is loading a
        program.
    -verbose: list = (null)
        This option allows users to enable verbose printing of
        individual subsystems within Avrora. A list can be given with
        individual items separated by commas. For example:
        -verbose=loader,atmel.flash

ADDITIONAL HELP CATEGORIES

    Additional help is available on a category by category basis. Below is a
list of the additional categories available to provide help with actions,
input formats, monitors, and more. To access help for a specific category,
specify the "-help" option followed by the name of category.

    -help actions
        Help for Avrora actions.
    -help all
        Print a list of all categories for which help is available.
    -help inputs
        Help for the supported program input formats.
    -help monitors
        Help for the supported simulation monitors.
    -help simulations
        Help for supported simulation types.

For more information, see the online documentation at 
http://compilers.cs.ucla.edu/avrora
To report bugs or seek help, consult the Avrora mailing list: 
http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/avrora
Please include the version number [Beta 1.6.0] when posting to the list.





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Copyright (c) 2004-2005, UCLA Compilers Group
The Avrora logo background is Copyright (c) 1996 Jan Curtis, used with permission.