Launch modes reflect general use cases; for instance, whether you want to debug a program, measure its code coverage, or simply run it. Changing the launch mode allows you to perform different tasks on the currently selected project.
When building a development project, the IDE generates output files that support the selected launch mode. For instance, when Code Coverage mode is selected, the IDE builds an instrumented binary along with the data files required by the code coverage tooling.
When running an application, the launch mode determines which binary version is uploaded to the target and which perspective is opened. For Code Coverage mode, the IDE uploads the binary built to output code coverage metrics, starts running this binary, and switches to the QNX Analysis perspective. The perspective switch ensures that you immediately have access to the features that support your current task.
If you're using a serial connection between the host and target and you want to debug a program over that connection, you must select an initial launch mode of Debug, then select the C/C++ QNX Serial Debugging launch configuration type (in the next dialog of the wizard).
Information on setting up a serial connection is given in “Serial communications”.
The Log launch mode lets you define a launch configuration for performing a kernel event trace. This activity doesn't involve running an application but instead gathering event data from the instrumented kernel.
If you select a launch configuration designed for kernel event tracing, only the Log mode is available in the Launch Mode dropdown. There is no build activity for this mode; nothing happens if you click the Build button in the launch bar. Clicking the Log button starts the kernel event trace on the selected launch target.