diff --git a/test/sim_tracing.cpp b/test/sim_tracing.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f3ac008
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/sim_tracing.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+#include <stdarg.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
+
+namespace libhei
+{
+
+// prints a single line to stdout
+void hei_inf(char* format, ...)
+{
+    va_list args;
+    fprintf(stdout, "I> ");
+    va_start(args, format);
+    vfprintf(stdout, format, args);
+    va_end(args);
+    fprintf(stdout, "\n");
+}
+
+// prints a single line to stderr
+void hei_err(char* format, ...)
+{
+    va_list args;
+    fprintf(stderr, "E> ");
+    va_start(args, format);
+    vfprintf(stderr, format, args);
+    va_end(args);
+    fprintf(stderr, "\n");
+}
+
+} // namespace libhei