Object-oriented Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification

摘要

This is a practitioner's discussion of the production of software in airborne systems which operate in civil airspace and the changes impacting it with the introduction of DO-178C/ED-12C, the emerging standard for the development of safety-critical software in airborne systems. A focus is made on the impact of the object-oriented supplement to this document which establishes, for the first time, a standard for the use of object-oriented programming and design in this environment. Discussion is made of the state of airworthiness certification where software is concerned, the existing standard DO-178B/ED-12B[1], its history, perceived shortcomings, existing practice and how that may change with the new standard. Additionally, an overview is given of how this supplement introduces a formal type theory basis for reducing the amount of verification an applicant for airworthiness must demonstrate in order to provide the necessary safety assurance for an airborne system.