1 Integration Testing of Fixed Priority Scheduled Real-Time Systems
Henrik Thane, Anders Pettersson, Hans Arne Hansson · 2001
Abstract-- In order to achieve reproducible and deterministic functional integration testing of real-time systems software it is essential to consider inputs, outputs, and the order in which the tasks communicate and synchronize with each other. In this paper we present a method for deterministic integration testing of strictly periodic fixed priority scheduled real-time systems. Essentially it is a structural white box testing method applied on the system level rather than the individual programs of the tasks. The method includes a reachability technique for deriving all possible orderings of task starts, preemptions and completions for tasks executing in a system where synchronization is resolved using the Priority Ceiling Emulation Protocol (PCEP) or offsets. The method also includes a structural testing strategy for achieving full coverage with respect to the derived execution orderings. The testing strategy also allow test methods for sequential programs to be applied, since each identified ordering can be regarded as a sequential program. In the presented analysis and testing strategy, we consider task sets with recurring release patterns, and take into account the effects of variations in start and execution times of the involved tasks, as well as the variations of the arrival and duration of the critical sections. Index Terms—Testing, integration testing, real-time systems, test coverage, priority ceiling emulation protocol, fixed priority scheduling, reachability analysis, determinism 1