Compiler Validation Suite includes MISRA-C conformance

"For anyone developing systems using the C language, the MISRA C guidelines should be essential," said Chris Hills, CTO, Phaedrus Systems and Chair of the MISRA Languages Committee. "While there is a range of tools to check code compliance, until now there has been no way of knowing if the compiler also conformed. With this new version of SuperTest developers can have significantly greater confidence that their code will execute as intended."

“We are very proud to be the first on the market with a MISRA C conformance suite,” said Marcel Beemster, CTO, Solid Sands. “Our suite contains more than 750 tests divided into tests that should and tests that should not trigger a MISRA diagnostic. The suite was carefully constructed to minimize the number of unintended diagnostics so that both automatic and manual assessment of test results is feasible.”

Depth Suite, the powerful arithmetic test suite that is integral to SuperTest has been improved. Depth Suites are generated for specific data models and possess detailed knowledge about the boundaries of target arithmetic: there are more than 30 data models. Within Depth Suite are fixed-point extensions for target compilers supporting Embedded C (ISO TR18037). These required the use of type specifiers. The new enhancements introduce type macros that can be overruled easily with external definitions, avoiding the use of type specifiers and giving more freedom in the implementation of fixed-point types. The fixed-point Depth Suite is now available to a much wider range of fixed-point extended compiler implementations.

"Compiler developers frequently use open source test suites,” says Marianne Damstra, CCO, Solid Sands. “We are surprised by their popularity because it is widely acknowledged that they are not adequate for conformance testing against the ISO C standard. With this SuperTest Mondrian Release we continue to provide a superior level of quality, bringing compilers to a higher confidence level. This is particularly important in markets where compiler quality really matters, such as safety critical markets.”