skip to main content
10.1145/1315580.1315583acmconferencesArticle/Chapter ViewAbstractPublication PagesadaConference Proceedingsconference-collections
Article

SA2: languages for safety-critical software: issues and assessment

Published:04 November 2007Publication History

ABSTRACT

This intermediate-level tutorial is aimed at people with a technical background in software development. No previous experience with safety-critical standards is required. Some familiarity with one or more of C, C++, Ada, or Java would be useful.

Safety-critical systems (whose anomalous behavior could cause catastrophic or major failure involving loss of life) are becoming increasingly prevalent. Standards such as DO-178B, originally developed for commercial avionics, are attracting attention in other segments. The requirement to comply with such standards imposes constraints (on quality assurance, traceability, etc. ) much beyond what is typical for Commercial-Off-The-Shelf Software. One of the major decisions that affects safety certification is the choice of programming language(s). Specific language features, either by their presence of absence, may make certification easier or harder. (Practicalities such as tool support and programmer experience are of course also important but are outside the scope of the tutorial).

This tutorial first summarizes existing safety standards, with a focus on DO-178B, and explains how they affect the requirements on a programming language. It specifically addresses the challenges imposed by Object-Oriented Technology and summarizes the work currently underway on DO-178C. The tutorial then assesses three language technologies -- C (including C++), Ada, and Java - with respect to suitability for meeting these requirements through appropriate subsetting. MISRA C, SPARK, and the in-progress Safety-Critical Java Technology are specifically identified and reviewed.

Index Terms

  1. SA2: languages for safety-critical software: issues and assessment

    Recommendations

    Comments

    Login options

    Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.

    Sign in
    • Published in

      cover image ACM Conferences
      SIGAda '07: Proceedings of the 2007 ACM international conference on SIGAda annual international conference
      November 2007
      116 pages
      ISBN:9781595938763
      DOI:10.1145/1315580
      • cover image ACM SIGAda Ada Letters
        ACM SIGAda Ada Letters  Volume XXVII, Issue 3
        SIGAda '07
        December 2007
        93 pages
        ISSN:1094-3641
        DOI:10.1145/1315607
        Issue’s Table of Contents

      Copyright © 2007 ACM

      Publisher

      Association for Computing Machinery

      New York, NY, United States

      Publication History

      • Published: 4 November 2007

      Permissions

      Request permissions about this article.

      Request Permissions

      Check for updates

      Qualifiers

      • Article
    • Article Metrics

      • Downloads (Last 12 months)8
      • Downloads (Last 6 weeks)1

      Other Metrics

    PDF Format

    View or Download as a PDF file.

    PDF

    eReader

    View online with eReader.

    eReader
    About Cookies On This Site

    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website.

    Learn more

    Got it!