Determining Compatibility of Embedded Software Components by Communication Obligations

The implementation of automotive systems by steadily growing ECU networks leaves testing increas-ingly inappropriate as the only means of assuring com-patibility of controller interactions. Other techniques, including prescriptive and analytic methods at design level, are needed instead, to ensure an effective and effi-cient development process. While compatibility checks restricted on architectural descriptions do not capture the necessary dynamic aspects, checks based on full behavioral models do not yet scale for practical appli-cations. Here, the description of communication obli-gations offers a trade-off between completeness and applicability. To support a methodical approach to compatibility assurance, domain-specific concepts like state/event-signals and modes are introduced, a formal-ization suitable for mechanic checking is defined, and the relation between interface descriptions and testing is discussed.