LDRA plug-in for Jenkins automation server

Jenkins automates and manages the build process and connects build and version control systems with quality management and automated testing processes for large-scale system-level software projects. LDRA has long linked to Jenkins to enable developers to analyse, track test and verification fulfilment, and measure code quality. Now, developers can view LDRA results directly in Jenkins, saving time and reducing development costs associated with building systems that must meet rigorous standards such as the automotive industry’s ISO 26262.

The new LDRA plug-In for Jenkins makes system-level automated testing and verification easier for embedded software developers by presenting detailed results in Jenkins.

“Continuous integration is a key part of agile workflows, so using the LDRA tool suite to generate certificate-grade artifacts at every check-in or daily helps developers stay on track and move faster through feature development cycles,” said Ian Hennell, LDRA operations director. “With LDRA fully integrated into the Jenkin’s interface, the process is smoother and LDRA results, such as code review analysis and the severity of violations, are easier to access.”

LDRA Brings Certification Management to Jenkins for Large-Scale Automotive Project Control

Managing large-scale safety-critical systems, which often require a global array of components and technology providers, is a difficult and costly process, especially when development teams span continents, languages and time zones. This LDRA/Jenkins solution offers developers the ability to track productivity and build process efficiency while easing certification challenges and improving software quality. Defects are identified earlier in the software development life cycle, saving significant time and costs of identifying errors later.

By verifying standards conformance, the LDRA tool suite helps companies demonstrate their systems meet rigorous certification standards, such as DO-178C  (Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification) and ISO 26262 (Road Vehicles – Functional Safety). Specifically, the LDRA tool suite provides static and dynamic analysis, requirements traceability, verification, testing and automated documentation.

In addition to tracking the progress of static analysis activities and code quality, the reporting features of Jenkins pulls essential information, such as how many test cases have passed and failed, from LDRA’s documentation process into the Jenkins dashboard to provide a concise summary. When test cases fail, developers can be informed via email or a web-based interface so they can take prompt corrective action. To maintain development efficiency, Jenkins continues to gather information as the baseline changes so test regression can be performed independently of normal developer activities.

“Instead of following links to LDRA results, developers can directly view trend graphs within Jenkins for static analysis violations and other findings,” Hennell added. “Being able to view these LDRA findings without needing to move to another application further facilitates the issues we’ve long aimed to solve—managing certification challenges and improving software quality.”

Learn more by watching the video 'Performing code review with Jenkins and the LDRA tool suite' to see how Jenkins and the LDRA tool suite work in tandem to find and fix coding rule violations to comply with the BARR-C:2018 standard.