Thanks for the response, and the link! It's interesting info, and good pointers to look to some of the existing tools from your OS and/or hardware providers for getting a start into whatever you're working on.

I think I might have made the mistake of thinking they wouldn't be available and only bothering to look till after trying a lot of other indirect methods, so it's a good reminder to check for any available official tooling and then supplement them with others where needed.