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Structural Coverage Analysis of Entry and Exit Points Required to Achieve the Objectives Defined in DO-178C

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Abstract

The objectives of the verification process specified in RTCA DO-178C include structural coverage analysis of the source code in accordance with the SC, DC, and MC/DC criteria, as well as data and control coupling analysis of software components. Structural coverage criteria have been used for many years (DO-178B was published in 1992); however, their definition in DO-178B/C is ambiguous. In particular, for the DC criterion, the concepts of entry points, exit points, and their coverage are not defined, and the developers of structural coverage collection and analysis tools have to define them in their own ways. This paper tries to eliminate this ambiguity for C/C++ programs and proposes some solutions that need to be implemented in these tools to satisfy the DO-178C structural coverage objectives.

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REFERENCES

  1. RTCA/DO-178C, Software considerations in airborne systems and equipment certification, RTCA Inc., 2011.

  2. RTCA/DO-178B, Software considerations in airborne systems and equipment certification, RTCA Inc., 1992.

  3. RTCA/DO-284C, Supporting information for DO-178C and DO-278A, RTCA Inc., 2011.

  4. Kozyrev, V.P. and Saburov, M.A., Satisfying DO-178C structural coverage objectives, Program. Comput. Software, 2018, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 43–50.

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  6. GosNIIAS, COVERest: Tool for automated analysis of structural code coverage. https://gosniias.ru/coverest.html. Accessed October 18, 2021.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), Kashirskoe sh. 31, 115409, Moscow, Russia

    V. P. Kozyrev

  2. LLC LaBS (Advalange), ul. Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya 25/4, 123001, Moscow, Russia

    V. P. Kozyrev

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  1. V. P. Kozyrev
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Correspondence to V. P. Kozyrev.

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The author declares that he has no conflicts of interest.

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Translated by Yu. Kornienko

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Kozyrev, V.P. Structural Coverage Analysis of Entry and Exit Points Required to Achieve the Objectives Defined in DO-178C. Program Comput Soft 48, 256–264 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S036176882204003X

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S036176882204003X

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