DO-178C Compliance
DO-178C, Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification, is a standard published by RTCA, Inc and developed jointly with EUROCAE, the European Organization for Civil Aviation Equipment.
Designed for international use, it provides production guidelines to guarantee the safety and reliability of software that is to be used in airborne systems and equipment. DO-178C has become a standard compliance used by software developers in avionics. The FAA applies DO-187B as the document it uses to assess the safety and reliability of software.
GrammaTech's static analysis tools can make a significant contribution to DO-178C activities.
Tool Qualification according to DO-330
GrammaTech provides a Functional Safety Self Test Package, which contains test assets that allow customers to Qualify CodeSonar in their environment. The Self Test Package provides both the test framework as well as the required test cases to demonstrate that CodeSonar behaves as expected in the customers environment with their compiler and their OS/RTOS.
Simplifying DO-178C Compliance with CodeSonar
As a static analysis tool, CodeSonar is classified by the DO-178B/C guidance as a software verification tool, as defined in section 12.2 of the guidance. Its use should be qualified on an individual basis by the customer; however, the main uses of CodeSonar to support an organization's DO-178B/C activities are outlined below.
The use of CodeSonar is especially applicable to these sections, but CodeSonar also supports various activities and objectives from other chapters. In particular, CodeSonar can provide value throughout the Software Development Process (Ch. 5) and in many cases, the completion of a CodeSonar analysis is a useful transition criterion (Ch. 4). For more detail, please read our whitepaper.
Most Applicable DO-178B/C Chapters
DO-178C Chapter 6: Software Verification Process
6.3 Software Reviews and Analyses
- 6.3.3 Reviews and Analyses of the Software Architecture
- 6.3.4 Reviews and Analyses of the Source Code
6.4 Software Testing Process
- 6.4.3 Requirements-Based Testing Methods
- 6.4.4 Test Coverage Analysis
DO-178C Chapter 7: Software Configuration Management Process
7.2 Software Configuration Management Process Activities
- 7.2.2 Baselines and Traceability
- 7.2.3 Problem Reporting, Tracking, and Corrective Action
- 7.2.4 Change Control
- 7.2.5 Change Review
DO-178C Chapter 11: Software Life Cycle Data
11.7 Software Design Standards
11.8 Software Code Standards
DO-178C Chapter 12: Additional Considerations
12.1 Use of Previously Developed Software
- 12.1.1 Modifications to Previously Developed Software
- 12.1.3 Change of Application or Development Environment
- 12.1.4 Upgrading a Development Baseline
CodeSonar helps you with standards compliance and bug classification:
Simplifying DO-178B/C Certification with GrammaTech's CodeSonar
The DO-178C “Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification” software standard was published by RTCA, Inc and developed jointly with EUROCAE, the European Organization for Civil Aviation Equipment. Designed for international use, it provides production guidelines for software used in airborne systems and equipment, which consequently must “comply with airworthiness requirements.”
This document describes how GrammaTech’s CodeSonar® can be used to support an organization’s DO-178B/C activities.
