software testing?

[acheo]

Anyone has ever used LabView and TestStand for software testing purposes, more specifically avionics firmware?

thanks

[JÞB]

Not yet!  But certainly something that is doable.  You will want to completely document the development process though

[Mark_Yedinak]

I have used LabVIEW and TestStand extensively for software, more specifically firmware, for many years. Most of teh LabVIEW work I have done has been focused on firmware testing. I have not worked in the avionics field but worked extensively in the telecommunications industry and for the past 6.5 years have been developing automated systems to test the firmware in barcode printers.

One thing to note when developing test systems for firmware testing, especially in TestStand, is that the number of tests you perform can be significantly greater than the number of tests on traditional hardware systems. When developing these types of systems you need to be aware of the number of tests and develop your system accordingly. For instance, our test suite for the printer currently consists of over 1200 sequences. Managing this effectively is very important in order to allow tests to run quickly and efficiently. We are in the process of chaging the architecture to use fewer more general test sequences driven from a database but we had inherited a large number of tests from a previous automated system which ended up with the current design.

[Broken_Arrow]

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@acheo wrote:

Anyone has ever used LabView and TestStand for software testing purposes, more specifically avionics firmware?

thanks

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What type of information do you need specifically? If you are asking the general question: Is LabVIEW / TestStand used in testing avionics firmware: Then yes, it definitely is. I have seen it, first hand, used in testing firmware using both ARINC and that new protocol on the Dreamliner (forgot the acronym).

[acheo]

Dreamliner = B787

Thanks for your reply. We are seeking for a test platform that has the capability to test hardware (production, manifacturing) and software (FAA, JAA, MOTCertification - DO178B). I know this may not exist but I must explore all options.

[billko]

Sure, you can do this with any programming language.  Its efficiency depends on how familiar you are with the platform.

[acheo]

I still haven't decided if we will go forward with NI. Could anyone give a list of pros and cons with a platform involving TestStand and LabView. As mentionned earlier, we are seeking for a platform that will allow both hardware and software testing.

thanks

[billko]

While the usual use of a TestStand/LabVIEW combo is to develop automated testing, it is a natural fit for software verification.  It's easy enough to make a master sequence that has all your sub-tests as subsequences that, if you're clever with parameters, you can design to run as standalone tests, too.  Like Mark said, be aware that since you are testing all the logic for all the firmware capabilities, this can be a HUGE undertaking.  But that isn't really related to the platform - I'm just making you aware of the scope of your task.

Bill

[acheo]

Ok, I'm glad to hear that. We are testing software against DO-178B.

What are the skills set required to design a test case with LabView?

[billko]

Probably you can do most stuff in TestStand, using LabVIEW to do complicated analysis.