impulse

The signal Workbench.
Understand – Debug – Analyse — from inside of your IDE.

impulse is a powerful visualization and analysis workbench which helps engineers to comfortably understand and debug complex semiconductor and multi-core software systems.
All impulse components are fully integrated into the respective IDE frameworks and can be combined with a growing set of emerging technologies and extensions (IoT, language IDEs, reports, CM… ).

The client-server architecture enables the workload and resources to be divided between signal providing tasks (on a simulation or application server) and analyzing tools on a local computer.
Use your favourite web ide to analyse your logs, traces and simulation data. No need to transfer large amounts of data or use local tools

Open extension mechanisms offer various possibilities for adapting impulse to particular user requirements. You can define your own data formats, implement acquisition interfaces, create your own specific diagrams, carry out special data analysis or integrate a 3D chart engine.
A lightweight frontend and a powerful Java backend enable the creation of high-performance and complex analysis applications.

Attach

Get Data from Anywhere

impulse offers a wide range of data formats and external interfaces through signal adaptors, providing a unified view of various data sources. Whether reading signals from log, wave, or trace files, or accessing live data streams, users can seamlessly integrate data from multiple channels. Signal adaptors allow direct connections to sources such as TCP streams, pipes, applications, external networks, serial interfaces, and data acquisition units. When dealing with multiple signal sources—such as log data from a serial interface and trace data over TCP—impulse can merge and synchronize them, ensuring accurate, comprehensive analysis across diverse systems and interfaces.

Read from a Workspace Resource

By double-clicking a workspace resource, the corresponding reader is instantly selected, and the viewer opens. Users can easily adjust the time frame or apply filters to focus on specific signals. Optional configurations allow for tailored views, providing flexibility to examine data with precision and efficiency.

Read from Data Interface, Application or External HW

impulse’s flexible signal adaptors enable connections to any signal source, whether through simple data interfaces, configurable readers, external libraries, or complex hardware setups. This adaptability ensures that users can easily integrate and analyze data from a wide variety of applications and external hardware, enhancing overall system versatility.

Combine and Synchronize Multiple Inputs

Impulse allows users to combine multiple signal ports of different types into a single synchronized input. This synchronization ensures seamless integration of diverse signals, enabling precise analysis and correlation across various data sources. The ability to merge and align inputs enhances clarity and accuracy in complex signal analysis.

Read from a Workspace Resource

Using a reader configuration to adapt the time frame or limit to specific signals.

Read from Data Interface, Application or External HW

Using the TCP adaptor to read simulation data from external target.

Combine and Synchronize Multiple Inputs

Delaying an input source.

Signals and Samples

Signals are value changes (samples) in relation to a specific domain (e.g., time), which can be represented in a real application as log or trace data over time, a transformation result over frequency or statistical data over an index.

Discrete or Continuous

Value changes (samples) can be at any point (discrete), even several at one point, or continuously at a fixed rate.

Multiple Domains

This could be time, date, frequency, index, voltage, current or generic etc.

Streams

Signals may grow over time to support online data visualization.

Relations and Labels

Signal samples may have a relation to a position in the same signal or any other signal. Labels may also be attached to a sample.

Source Graph

A graphical representation of the source signals and scopes makes it easy to navigate, find and understand.

Grouped Samples

Samples may be grouped, for example, transactions where at least two samples (start and end) cover a period.

Signal Types

Event/ Enumeration

Enumeration values consist of an integer value and its text representation.

Typical uses cases: Digital simulation, logic analyzers, logs and traces.

Logic

Logic values consist of 1…N bits. The bits are stored as 2-, 4- or 16-state data (normally nine states are used).

Typical uses cases: Digital simulation, logic analyzers.

Integer

Integer value of any size.

Typical uses cases: Digital simulation, scopes, logs and traces.

Float

32- or 64-bit real values.

Typical uses cases: Analouge simulation, scopes, logs and traces.

Text

Text values of any size.

Typical uses cases: Logs.

Arrays

Arrays of Text, Integer, Float and Enumeration.

Struct

Structured data with elements of type Text, Integer, Float, Binary and Enumeration.

Typical uses cases: Logs , traces.

Binary

Binary data of any size.

Typical uses cases: Image data.

View

Present Your Way

Every development process is unique, and every developer has a distinct workflow. With impulse, users can customize their views to match their specific needs, ensuring an efficient and intuitive experience. The user-friendly interface keeps the focus on signal data rather than the tool itself. Powerful visualization elements enable the creation of informative, tailored displays. Choose from various diagram types to represent signals across different domains, such as time and frequency, or use charts to present statistical insights. This flexibility allows for clear, precise data interpretation, enhancing analysis, debugging, and overall system understanding with a personalized approach.

Your point of view

A view consists of a customizable set of diagrams, organized in a structured tree for easy navigation. Users can create multiple views tailored to their needs and switch between them seamlessly. This flexibility ensures quick access to relevant information, enhancing analysis, visualization, and overall efficiency in signal interpretation.

Diagrams

Diagrams provide customizable visual representations of signal data, offering clarity and precision in analysis. They can share a zoomable, scrollable axis, such as trace time, or be dynamically resized to fit the display. This flexibility allows users to adapt diagrams for detailed inspections, ensuring efficient signal interpretation and system debugging.

Use multple Domains, Axes and Cursors

impulse enables signal visualization across multiple domains, such as time and frequency, within a single view. Users can define multiple cursors to navigate and measure within signals, with a dedicated detail area displaying the current cursor position and delta distances. This flexibility enhances precise signal analysis and navigation.

Your point of view

Users can define multiple views and switch between them at any time to get the information they need.

Diagrams

Diagrams can have a common zoomable and scrollable axis (e.g. trace time), or they can be resized to fit the window (charts).

Use multple Domains, Axes and Cursors

Users can define any number of cursors. A dedicated detail area shows the current position and delta distances.

Domains and Axes

impulse can display waveforms using multiple domains (e.g., time and frequency) in one view. If your signals are using the same domain, it allows you to display them on multiple axes.

Online Display

Incoming signal values from the data stream are continuously updated. Start analysing signals while streams are still loading.

Quick measurement

With each of the cursors you can easily measure domain and value distances.

Search

Use expressions to find unique or multiple occurrences of sample combinations.

Value Formats

All textual values can easily be displayed using different formats, e.g., Decimal, Hexadecimal, Octal, Binary, ASCII or a specific decimal user format.

Combine

You can combine or separate signals in diagrams with a single click.

Complementary Views

Sample Tables & Inspector

Sample Tables offer a tabular representation of signal data, fully synchronized with the active viewer, including signals, cursors, and data streams. As the viewer selection changes, the input signal updates accordingly, while the selected sample aligns with the cursor position. For streaming data, real-time updates ensure continuous refreshes. Users can apply filters to refine results and combine multiple signals along the index order for comprehensive analysis. Configurable columns and formats allow customized value representations for different data types. These features enhance signal inspection, enabling precise monitoring, efficient debugging, and deeper insights into system performance and behavior.

Synchronize Signals

The input signal is synchronized with the selection of the active viewer.

Synchronize Position

The selected sample is synchronized with the cursor position of the active viewer.

Refresh

Signal data in the case of streams (online data) are continuously refreshed.

Filter

Filters can be applied to all columns.

Combine

Multiple signals can be combined along the index order.

Configurable Columns and Formats

A value representation can be configured for all types and members.

Analyse

Explore In Depth

Signal calculation tools are essential for deeper system analysis and debugging. By automating complex tasks, they reveal hidden relationships, detect inconsistencies, and enhance system reliability. Mathematical operations enable signal combination, while protocol parsers decode data exchanges. Reference signal generation aids in comparisons, and statistical extraction provides valuable performance insights. Automated conflict detection accelerates troubleshooting, reducing manual effort. These tools allow users to explore data in depth, uncovering patterns that would be impossible to identify visually. By leveraging automation, engineers can efficiently analyze large datasets, improving decision-making, optimizing performance, and ensuring robust system functionality.

Create or derive Signals

Signal processors enable the creation of new signals from existing ones or even from scratch. They combine signals using mathematical operations, extract meaningful patterns, and implement protocol parsers to decode data. By generating reference signals and transforming raw inputs, these tools enhance analysis, debugging, and overall system performance.

Inspection of signal components or derivations

The signal tree provides an in-depth view of signal components and derived data. It enables users to inspect logic signal bits, analyze structured protocol elements, and examine real-time trace tasks and timers. This detailed breakdown enhances debugging, ensuring precise signal interpretation and deeper system understanding.

Analyse large datasets

Analyzer operations efficiently process vast datasets with multiple signals in the background. They extract statistical insights, identify patterns, and automatically detect issues. By automating analysis, these tools enhance efficiency, reduce manual workload, and provide deeper visibility into system performance, ensuring accurate diagnostics and informed decision-making.

Analyzing transactions

Showing requests and responses

Signal processor

Editing java code of signal processor

Signal chains

Signal processors shape new signals, either from scratch or by transforming existing ones. Each view signal may embed a processor, merging sources from other signals to form complex outputs. This layered approach creates dynamic signal chains, where each transformation builds upon the last, ensuring adaptability and continuity in the system.

Streams

Streamed signal data enables continuous processing, generating new output with each input while preserving existing samples. This ensures real-time adaptability, maintaining data integrity and allowing seamless signal evolution without altering past results.

Interactive

Modifying a processor settings or expression instantly alters the output, providing immediate feedback and enabling dynamic control over the signal and view settings.