Hardware breakpoints typically monitor the address value and can be set in any code, even in code that is in ROM or code that is self-modifying. See Hardware breakpoints for more details.

Software breakpoints monitor a particular bit pattern being fetched from any address. One EmbeddedICE-RT watchpoint can therefore be used to support any number of software breakpoints. See Software breakpoints for more details.

Software breakpoints can usually be set only in RAM because a special bit pattern chosen to cause a software breakpoint has to replace the instruction.