Product category:
Design and Development Software
News Release from: Hitex Development Tools
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 22 April 2005
Microcontroller applications put to the
test
Hitex Development Tools and DaimlerChrysler Research and Technology are cohosting free seminars on unit testing microcontroller applications.
Hitex Development Tools and DaimlerChrysler Research and Technology are cohosting free seminars on unit testing microcontroller applications The seminars will be held on 12th May and 28th September 2005 at the Prodrive Motorsport Technology Centre in Warwickshire
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 3 Dec 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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The majority of software quality standards demand some form of unit testing and widespread concerns about software quality in general means that many companies must improve their testing methods.
Most intend to introduce formal testing but admit that they either cannot find the time to do it or have started but become overwhelmed by the huge effort it traditionally requires.
8bit devices like the 8051 for example, are extremely popular but their limited memory resources make them difficult to use with conventional unit testing systems.
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This has made it especially hard for users of such devices to introduce proper unit testing regimes into their projects.
Although somewhat larger, the 16bit C167/XC/ST10 devices are often used in single-chip mode where ROM and RAM are restricted.
Bolting-on unit testing to existing projects to meet the requirements of standards such as IEC61508 is a particular challenge due to incomplete specifications and documentation.
Faced with all these problems, leading automotive manufacturer DaimlerChrysler had to develop its own techniques for embedded software testing on small CPUs like the 8051 and C167/ST10.
These new testing technologies are now used throughout the DCX group and its associated component suppliers.
This in-house technology is embodied in the Tessy and Classification Tree tools that allow unit testing with standard embedded C compilers.
Interested parties can now gain experience of unit testing, regression testing, scripting, test case management and Tessy via two one-day technical seminars.
The events are intended for anybody faced with unit testing embedded applications and will give useful guidance as to what is and is not possible, using a range of testing techniques.
Due to their widespread use, particularly in automotive applications, the C167/XC/ST10 16bit microcontroller family will be used for the practical demonstrations.
The seminars will be of interest to anybody working with the following microcontrollers: 8051, PIC, C166/ST10, XC16x, 68HC11/08/12, S12, M16C, M32C, V850, ST7, MPC5xx, Tricore, LPC2xxx, AT91xxx, TMS320, TMS470, 68K, CR16 or FFMC16.
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