Verification tool automatically generates test cases
The DANA framework is based on Luna, the latest version of the open development platform Eclipse and is designed in particular with automotive infotainment developments in mind. By developing DANA, the Fraunhofer Institute for Embedded Systems and Communications Systems (Fraunhofer ESK), picks up the results of a study on software development it conducted a couple of years ago. In this study, the majority of the interviewees rated the tests as the most complex and most time-consuming part of software development which also requires very high tool support. In the automotive and avionics industries, developers typically utilize bespoken test tools. The DANA platform enables users to adapt the test tool according to their own needs without having to completely develop their tools from scratch. According to Fraunhofer project manager Gereon Weiß, the platform is particularly apt to multivendor systems with many heterogeneous components.
The verification process of software services in the automotive context embraces multiple aspects including communications infrastructure, applications logics and user data. All these aspects need to be treated differently during the verification process.
DANA is based on the FRANCA interface description language (IDL) which has been developed by the Genivi consortium. It describes the static and dynamic behavior of the related components. „In automotive infotainment, today the interface design is driven by functions“, explains Weiß. In the future it is expected that this will gradually change and non-functional aspects like timing or sequencing will come to the fore.
The deployment of tools like DANA generates benefits at several levels, Weiß said. It makes sure that the (software) components of the system really behave as described in the product specs. In addition, the components are becoming interchangeable.
More information on DANA: www.esk.fraunhofer.de/EN
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