Concept image of a white passenger aircraft on a runway.

Verifying Aerospace Software with VectorCAST

How VectorCAST meets the DO-178C and ED-12C verification objectives, from requirements-based testing through coverage and tool qualification.

Download the White Paper Try VectorCAST

Certifying airborne software under DO-178C and ED-12C requires both requirements-based testing and structural code coverage. The required coverage increases with the software level, reaching MC/DC at Level A. This whitepaper shows how VectorCAST produces that evidence and the artifacts a certification effort must present.

What the White Paper Covers

Map each DO-178C and ED-12C verification objective to a VectorCAST capability
Build normal-range and robustness test cases from requirements
Demonstrate structural coverage to Level A, including MC/DC

Verify data and control coupling across components
Reuse coverage across test phases to cut duplicated low-level work
Qualify VectorCAST for certification with the TQL matrix and qualification kit

Software Levels and Structural Coverage

DO-178C, published in Europe as EUROCAE ED-12C, sets the guidelines that avionics organizations and certification authorities such as the FAA, EASA, and Transport Canada use to approve airborne software. A system safety assessment sets the software level, and each level carries its own structural coverage objective. Levels A through C are shown below; Levels D and E carry no structural coverage objective, covering minor failure conditions and software with no effect on the aircraft or crew.

Level A

Catastrophic failure condition

Structural Coverage
Statement, Decision, and MC/DC

Level B

Hazardous failure condition

Structural Coverage
Statement and Decision

Level C

Major failure condition

Structural Coverage
Statement

Where VectorCAST Fits

VectorCAST/C++ and VectorCAST/Ada automate unit and integration testing of C, C++, and Ada source code, automatically generating and compiling the test stubs and driver programs. VectorCAST/QA collects coverage during functional or system testing. The Requirements Gateway links requirements to test cases, and the Runtime Support Package extends execution to embedded targets and simulators. VectorCAST/Timing adds worst-case execution time analysis, computing timing from measured execution data to produce the statistical evidence a safety case relies on.

Tests are independent of the source code, so the same test cases run on the host, on a simulator, or on the target. When an application moves to a new processor or compiler, the regression mechanism rebuilds the test harnesses and re-executes the existing tests in the new environment.

VectorCAST Tool Qualification

DO-178C and ED-12C require tool qualification when a tool automates or reduces a verification process and its output is not independently verified. VectorCAST performs low-level requirements validation and coverage reporting, so it must be qualified. Vector provides an off-the-shelf qualification package tailored to each project. The whitepaper outlines the Criteria Levels, the Tool Qualification Level matrix, and the qualification kit contents.