DO-178B/C and IEC 61058 offered compliance from LDRA tool suite

Development boards are shared between all system teams this is due to the extreme cost of these processors. The LDRA tool suite eliminates errors and reduces on-target testing time, furthermore it creates rigorous test harnesses that fully exercise the code in simulated systems.



The MIL-STS-1750 and Aeroflex Gaisler are radiation-hardened processors, representing a range of legacy to best-in-class processors for nuclear applications and spacecraft. These components offer a full range of capabilities from 16-bit through to 64 and have dominated the space industry for decades, making them highly dependable. The incorporation of the LDRA tool suite with operating systems, for instance Linux and VxWorks allows developers to run code on the target and load and extract results through networks including Ethernet, TCP/IP, and SpaceWire.



LDRA Tool Suite Creates Rigorous Test Harness



Developers use the LDRA tool suite to perform code review, code coverage, unit testing and requirements traceability before deployment on the target, the reasoning behind this is due to limited access to these types of specialised development systems.



The LDRA tool suite works the code fully, automatically generating test cases and confirming code coverage down to the assembly level in a simulated test environment. These tests can be repeated on target before deployment and the ability to run the same tests on simulator and target allows for developers to maximize use of target resources. Tests such as these ensure that the application along with all development tools whether compilers, real-time operating systems or other tool chain components function dependably and as expected and are compliant with DO-178B/C and IEC 61508 certification requirements.



Ian Hennell, LDRA Operations Director, quoted, “Because of the safety risks and the expense of development, regulators mandate that the hundreds of thousands of lines of code responsible for the various systems within a nuclear power plant and space crafts comply with the most rigorous certification standards,”. “Our broad safety-driven customer base and strong technical relationships with chip and tool chain vendors alike ensures the LDRA tool suite can provide the more rigorous validation for applications that we cannot afford to fail.”



LDRA Offers Seamless Transition to the Target



Developers can then apply the same test harness used in the simulated test environment to the target system, due to development boards becoming more available. The team can quickly load, execute, and get results through whatever mechanisms are available on each processor. The LDRA tool suite is capable of fully exercising the code, identifying errors, untested code, and unfilled requirements for applications running on these specialised processors, developers can fully vet the code, ensuring that applications function as expected.