Авіаційно-космічна техніка та технологія (Aug 2019)
INTRODUCTION OF NEW VERSION DO-178С STANDARD TO PRACTICE OF SOFTWARE CERTIFICATION
Abstract
The information is given that JSC “Element”, being a developer of electronic systems for aviation purposes and embedded software, pays great attention to their reliability and dependability, including in-flight conditions. It uses the global principle, which provides for certification of software as a process of documenting the life cycle of this software from the moment of issuance of technical specifications to maintenance in operation. The actual standard describing all stages of the development, testing, and implementation of safe software in the aviation industry for over 30 years has been RTCA DO-178 and its analogs (ED-12, KT-178). DO-178 has come a long way of development and improvement. Its various options at different points in time most closely corresponded to the characteristics of the equipment, but, most importantly, to the capabilities of the software development tools. This article presents the main features and differences of the current version of DO-178C from the previous DO-178B. These differences, or, more precisely, the changes, are divided into non-essential and significant. It is noted that DO-178C differs little from DO-178B in text volume, but the main difference is the addition of other documents. These documents in the complex extend the capabilities of DO-178, bringing it closer to the most modern software development technologies. Such technologies are object-oriented programming and model-oriented software development. The specified technologies should be traceable, and their goals should coincide with the goals of the base document. It is noted that aviation application software developers should consider not only the benefits of implementing the DO-178C but also possible delays and additional costs associated with the use of additional tools and technologies. In general, with proper planning, the DO-178C is key to maintaining competitiveness in the development of critical software for aviation. The State Aviation Administration of Ukraine does not provide adequate support to developers and manufacturers of aviation software. We hope that this situation will improve.
Keywords
