DO-178C takes safety-critical software development to the next level

Since its introduction in 1992 by the RTCA, DO-178B has become the de facto standard for certifying all new aviation software. Subsequently, avionics software complexity has increased dramatically, making it harder to manage the design of that software at the code level. Software development technology has also improved by leaps and bounds, but DO-178B has lagged behind, failing to embrace the latest development technology.

The RTCA and its new standard, DO-178C, will bring safety-critical software development into the modern era, adding support for advanced techniques such as UML and mathematical modeling, object-oriented programming and formal methods, which will enable designers to conceptualize, architect and encapsulate their design at a higher level. DO-178C will also introduce bidirectional traceability, which will make it easier for designers to verify that software developed using these advanced techniques achieves the desired level of safety criticality.

Three new DO-178C supplements and a tool qualification standard
DO-178C inherits the DO-178B core document, principles and processes. In addition, the DO-178C working group has produced three new development technology supplements: Object Oriented Technology and Related Techniques (OOT & RT), Model Based Development and Verification and Formal Methods. DO-178C also provides a tools qualification standard for addressing in detail the qualification and capabilities of the tools used for not only modeling, object-oriented programming and formal methods, but also for other development technologies such as procedural software. These four documents have been published by the RTCA as:

DO-330, Software Tool Qualification Considerations

Source: eetimes