LDRA Integrates with ARM DS-5 for First Ever "Road to Certification" Solution

Oct. 25, 2016 - PRLog -- LDRA (http://www.ldra.com/), the leader in standards compliance, automated software verification, source code analysis and test tools, today announced further integration of the industry-leading LDRA tool suite^® with ARM^® DS-5 Development Studio (https://developer.arm.com/products/software-development-tools/ds-5-development-studio) (DS-5). The integrated LDRA and ARM Fixed Virtual Platform (https://developer.arm.com/products/system-design/fixed-virtual-platforms) (FVP) "Road to Certification" solution enables embedded systems designers to test applications before target hardware is available, significantly reducing design time and development cost of systems for safety- and security-critical markets, such as automotive, medical devices, and industrial controls.

Uniquely, the LDRA tool suite provides standards compliance and traceability throughout the software development life cycle, from functional safety and security requirements to design, coding, and verification. The LDRA plug-in to ARM DS-5, which supports virtually all compilers in the ARM ecosystem, goes even further by leveraging ARM's FVPs to automate and manage the testing process of ARM-based applications before hardware is available. This integrated environment makes it possible for engineers to start testing activities with an FVP, then transition to a target as the hardware becomes available by changing a single option in the LDRA graphical interface. This tight level of integration also means that developers can make the transition from using the FVP to the real target in their build and integration systems — saving test case development time while knowing that those test cases will perform identically in the target environment.

"Being able to test the application from a behavioral perspective before the target hardware is available is a notable breakthrough in embedded systems design methodology," said Ian Hennell, Operations Director, LDRA. "The unprecedented integration between the LDRA tool suite and the ARM DS-5 environment results in a first ever "Road to Certification" solution that dramatically shortens development time while ensuring that the design meets safety standards. The solution also facilitates a much more flexible approach to business and product development strategies because developers can change hardware, architecture, and IDE/compiler vendors without adding compliance risk."

The LDRA tool suite includes a powerful ARM DS-5 safety qualification kit that supports all ARM formats and enables compliance with functional safety standards, including ISO 26262, IEC 62304, and IEC 61508. The LDRA solution also supports MISRA programming guidelines to improve software product quality, consistency, clarity, and maintainability. In the connected IoT world, the combined LDRA-ARM solution provides both efficiency and flexibility for development organizations that must now address increasing functional safety and security standards. The solution's capabilities, coupled with its tight integration with the ARM FVP environment, greatly accelerate the test process and enable testing activities to be conducted concurrently with development, resulting in higher productivity for development and QA teams and faster product time to market.

The LDRA tool suite will be demonstrated at:

ARM TechCon (http://www.armtechcon.com/), October 25-27, Santa Clara, CA, Booth 212.

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About LDRA

For more than 40 years, LDRA has developed and driven the market for software that automates code analysis and software testing for safety-, mission-, security-, and business-critical markets. Working with clients to achieve early error identification and full compliance with industry standards, LDRA traces requirements through static and dynamic analysis to unit testing and verification for a wide variety of hardware and software platforms. Boasting a worldwide presence, LDRA is headquartered in the United Kingdom with subsidiaries in the United States and India coupled with an extensive distributor network. For more information on the LDRA tool suite, please visit www.ldra.com.