27-06-2012, 11:49 AM
AUTOMATED TESTING OF EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
[attachment=25700]
INTRODUCTION:
Embedded system is simply a combination of hardware and software that performs the component of a larger system. An embedded system employs a combination of hardware & software (a “computational engine”) to perform a specific function; works in a reactive and time-constrained environment. A software component called as Real-Time Operating Systems makes the hardware counterpart work accordingly.
DESIGN OF EMBEDDED SYSTEMS:
An embedded system typically comprises the hardware, embedded RTOS, device drivers, communication stacks and embedded application software.
WHY SO MUCH FOCUS ON TESTING?
Though testing is a complementary aspect of design process, still why so much is to be focused on testing an embedded system? Embedded systems are part of crucial real-time applications and are widely used in complex, time crucial projects like rocket launching and nuclear power development projects. So whatever be the design complexity and sophistication, the designed systems should be put to use with utmost guaranteed performance unless which huge losses can incur.
ANCHOR THE INTERFACE FIRST
One of the most important things with the embedded testing is going to be the interface we choose. The interface will define what testing you are able to do. So wherever we put this interface and how we configure it will be very important. It’s going to limit and focus the amount of testing or its direction. Defining the interface is very important to the testing effort. With embedded systems, this is important because if the focus is wrong, we will start with a wrong view of the system and the testing that we try to implement will be very unproductive. Probably we will not be able to accomplish what we wanted to do and still spend a lot of time implementing the wrong test and hardware.
GENERALIZED TESTING TECHNIQUES:
The choice of right technique is critical to achieve good test results.
Some techniques involve analyzing the structural organization of the
system while some involve analyzing the system’s behavior. Some
tests require inside knowledge of how the system works while others
require an understanding of what the system does.
STATIC TESTING
A static test is one that evaluates the quality of the system without
the system actually running. This may seem very strange but still
this can be regarded as a very basic test.
STRUCTURAL (“WHITE BOX”) TESTING
Static testing is a powerful—but not a sufficient—test technique. At some point we must actually run the system and look for bugs in it. Tests that involve running the system under test are called dynamic tests. Structural tests are one major example of dynamic tests. Structural tests are based on how the system is built. Structural tests are most typically applied to individual components and interfaces, being particularly effective at discovering localized errors in control and data flows.
[attachment=25700]
INTRODUCTION:
Embedded system is simply a combination of hardware and software that performs the component of a larger system. An embedded system employs a combination of hardware & software (a “computational engine”) to perform a specific function; works in a reactive and time-constrained environment. A software component called as Real-Time Operating Systems makes the hardware counterpart work accordingly.
DESIGN OF EMBEDDED SYSTEMS:
An embedded system typically comprises the hardware, embedded RTOS, device drivers, communication stacks and embedded application software.
WHY SO MUCH FOCUS ON TESTING?
Though testing is a complementary aspect of design process, still why so much is to be focused on testing an embedded system? Embedded systems are part of crucial real-time applications and are widely used in complex, time crucial projects like rocket launching and nuclear power development projects. So whatever be the design complexity and sophistication, the designed systems should be put to use with utmost guaranteed performance unless which huge losses can incur.
ANCHOR THE INTERFACE FIRST
One of the most important things with the embedded testing is going to be the interface we choose. The interface will define what testing you are able to do. So wherever we put this interface and how we configure it will be very important. It’s going to limit and focus the amount of testing or its direction. Defining the interface is very important to the testing effort. With embedded systems, this is important because if the focus is wrong, we will start with a wrong view of the system and the testing that we try to implement will be very unproductive. Probably we will not be able to accomplish what we wanted to do and still spend a lot of time implementing the wrong test and hardware.
GENERALIZED TESTING TECHNIQUES:
The choice of right technique is critical to achieve good test results.
Some techniques involve analyzing the structural organization of the
system while some involve analyzing the system’s behavior. Some
tests require inside knowledge of how the system works while others
require an understanding of what the system does.
STATIC TESTING
A static test is one that evaluates the quality of the system without
the system actually running. This may seem very strange but still
this can be regarded as a very basic test.
STRUCTURAL (“WHITE BOX”) TESTING
Static testing is a powerful—but not a sufficient—test technique. At some point we must actually run the system and look for bugs in it. Tests that involve running the system under test are called dynamic tests. Structural tests are one major example of dynamic tests. Structural tests are based on how the system is built. Structural tests are most typically applied to individual components and interfaces, being particularly effective at discovering localized errors in control and data flows.