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AUTOSAR C++ Rules and Coding Standards Compliance
C++ is a complicated language and requires high effort investment to assure predictability, safety, and security. The AUTomotive Open System ARchitecture (AUTOSAR) organization developed AUTOSAR C++14, a coding standard that restricts the usage of C++14 to the constructs that are predictable and don’t lead to unnecessary safety and security risks.
AUTOSAR
What Is AUTOSAR?
The AUTomotive Open System ARchitecture (AUTOSAR) comes from a development partnership among automotive entities. Founded in 2003, the group sought to establish standardized and open software architecture around automotive electronic control units (ECUs). It also covers semiconductors, too.
The AUTOSAR development partnership sought to enhance the effectiveness and availability of safety requirements, scalability, transferability, and sustainability throughout the product lifecycle. Though not inherently medical devices, certain aspects of automotive technology certainly fall under protective items. Product lines line airbags require technology that will accurately deploy them while systems like motor control require consistency.
More embedded electronics in automobiles also means lots of data collection, as well as data processing in real-time. Different aspects of AUTOSAR seek to address the needs of modern automotive electronics and software components.
AUTOSAR Classic Platform vs. AUTOSAR Adaptive
There are two types of AUTOSAR platforms: Adaptive and Classic. Classic AUTOSAR platform does not offer the kind of flexibility and processing power that the Adaptive methodology can. The growing complexity of automotive technology requires easier reactions and quicker responses.
However, the two platforms are not rivals, but teammates. Both serve different purposes in the automotive design and development ecosystem.
Key Differences
| AUTOSAR Classic Platform | AUTOSAR Adaptive Platform |
|---|---|
| Ideal for a single or multicore architecture and deeply embedded ECUs. | Ideal for newer ECUs and intended to run on top of HPC architectures to better take advantage of them. |
| Utilizes signal-based communication with BUS networks like LIN or CAN. | Uses service-based communication with Ethernet. |
| Defines an operating system (OS). | Defines execution context, as well as an operating system interface such as PSE51. |
| Static nature with low flexibility. | Provides “planned dynamics” during application deployment with flexible integration. |
| Deadlines are more pressing due to realtime processing. | Soft realtime requirement. |
| Examples include braking systems and engine control. | Examples include sensor fusion data processing and over-the-air updates (OTA updates). |
What Is AUTOSAR C++14?
It’s a coding standard for C++ version 14 (ISO/IEC 14882:2014) and an artifact or one of the outcomes in defining the Adaptive AUTOSAR platform which provides interface specification for APIs and services.. This section of AUTOSAR coding guidelines originally just updated MISRA C++ 2008 – an outmoded coding standard. However, MISRA and AUTOSAR announced their merger in 2019, in support of updating to C++17. Which has become the default language for many modern AUTOSAR electronic solutions.
In fact, these guidelines are so robust and optimized, they can be applied to any industry that requires embedded programming in C++.
AUTOSAR C++14 Rules & Deviations
AUTOSAR C++14 has 342 rules to help give the user a clear understanding and guidance on coding requirements. AUTOSAR C++14 coding rules are classified according to obligation level.
- Required rules. Mandatory for claiming compliance with the standard.
- Advisory rules. Recommended but without mandatory status.
However, a deviation from an AUTOSAR standard, rule, or guideline can be permitted. To avoid abusing the deviation concept by developers deviating at will, sign-offs for every deviation must be included. In addition, the rules are also classified as whether they can be enforced automatically by static analysis tools.
- Automated can be fully supported by static analysis tools.
- Partially automated can be supported by static analysis tools but may require. additional practices such as code review.
- Non-automated cannot be supported with static analysis tools.
The use of C++14 in collaboration with the AUTOSAR C++14 guidelines provides developers with the ability to use superior compilers and improved access to enhanced testing, verification, and analysis tools. It allows new development methods to be used like continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) which can detect errors sooner in the software development life cycle.
“MISRA”, “MISRA C” and the triangle logo are registered trademarks of The MISRA Consortium Limited. ©The MISRA Consortium Limited, 2021. All rights reserved.
Benefits of Having the Right Solution in Your AUTOSAR Software Toolkit
Finding the right development tools to ensure software quality is a matter of trial and error. But that doesn’t mean you need to experiment with unproven tools or strategies. Luckily, the mountain of benefits of automation in regard to testing and compliance are distinct.
Finding issues earlier can only make things easier for everyone involved in software development. From software architecture and application software to diagnostics and validation, Parasoft solutions have it all in mind.
Implement AUTOSAR C++14 compliance in delivering safe, secure, and reliable code for everlasting benefits that impact your product success and longevity while reducing labor costs and time to market.
Increase Code Quality & Reduce Defect Cost
Prevent code defects earlier in the development process before they cascade into more expensive challenges down the line.
Satisfy Industry Process Standards
Parasoft offers AUTOSAR C++14 static analysis as the solution recommended by process standards like ISO 26262, DO-178C, IEC 62304, IEC 61508, EN 50128 and more.
Satisfy Static Analysis Security Testing (SAST)
Weave AUTOSAR C++14 security coding guidelines right into your software development lifecycle as part of your SAST strategy.
Test Smarter With AI & ML
Parasoft incorporates artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve productivity in your team’s AUTOSAR C++14 static analysis workflows, flagging and prioritizing the violations to fix first.
Incorporate AUTOSAR C++14 SA Into Your CI/CD Workflow
Parasoft’s AUTOSAR C++14 static analysis integrates easily into your streamlined CI/CD pipeline with continuous testing to deliver high-quality, safe, and secure software quickly.
Expand From AUTOSAR C++14 & Build Custom Coding Guidelines
Create your own custom coding standards configuration for your organization using the Parasoft RuleWizard.
Combine Coding Standards With AUTOSAR C++14 for Optimum Code Quality
Parasoft offers the aggregation MISRA with all our other supported coding standards like CERT, CWE, OWASP, UL 2900, and more.
Types of Static Code Analysis Tools
Deploy Parasoft’s solutions to conduct static analysis of code no matter which development environment you work in.
Parasoft C/C++test executes static analysis by integrating tightly into your C and C++ development environment, detects defects earlier, and automatically enforces compliance with industry standards. Enables compliance with standards MISRA C:2012, MISRA C++:2008, AUTOSAR C++14, JSF, HIC++, CERT C/C++, and CWE Top 25 and On the Cusp list.
Designed to shine in the modern Agile DevOps and DevSecOps framework, Jtest works in the Java development environment. Deploy this testing solution to execute Java code quality checkers and comply with a suite of functional safety and security standards. Enables compliance with standards: OWASP, CWE Top 25 and On the Cusp, and PCI DSS.
Supporting the Microsoft development environment, dotTEST ensures code quality and compliance with industry standards. Enables compliance with standards: OWASP, CWE Top 25 and On the Cusp, and PCI DSS.
AUTOSAR Best Practices
When it comes to AUTOSAR C++14 compliance, there are several highly beneficial practices. Here’s a list of some of the methods to consider.
Perform Code/Peer Reviews
In addition to AUTOSAR C++14 compliance, convene with your fellow software engineers and systematically check each other’s code for mistakes and coding style violations. This activity has been shown to accelerate and substantially improve code quality.
Properly Log Your Deviations
Any AUTOSAR C++14 guideline deviation requires thorough documentation on the following: which guideline, scope, justification, safety assurance, consequences, and mitigation.
Code Clarity
AUTOSAR C++14 compliance will help you write code that is easy to read and easily understood. Don’t be too clever and write cryptic code that’s hard to follow or easily misunderstood. You don’t want other engineers or yourself to spend a lot of time trying to decipher a bug in your code.
Code Portability
AUTOSAR C++14 compliance helps write code with portability in mind because portable code (POSIX, ANSI C, and so on) can be easily and quickly moved to other platforms. Adapting other compilers or other operating systems and can be done with minimum code changes. Many times, there are financial or business opportunities why migrating to another operating system or target needs to happen.
Reduce AUTOSAR C++14 Noise
Some code constructs may be written in a way that triggers an AUTOSAR C++14 rule violation. Parasoft provides a way to knowingly filter out this noise.
Code Complexity
AUTOSAR C++14 compliance helps write code that doesn’t have a large number of branches. The more branches, the higher the code complexity and the higher number of bugs found in the code.
Code Robustness
AUTOSAR C++14 compliance helps you write reliable code that not only handles the sunny day scenarios but rainy days too. Including negative scenarios that prepare your application if it comes up against invalid data.
Code Reusability
AUTOSAR C++14 compliance helps you write portable code that can be reused in future products or projects. This improves productivity and reduces labor and testing costs.
Example Use Cases
The open and standard software architecture features in many modern automotive software electronic systems today are being used for autonomous driving and connectivity.
Take Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) like LIDAR that help cars sense when they’re in danger of hitting an object. Parking assist with automated driving also relies heavily on the AUTOSAR software architecture.
These are just two use cases, but with AUTOSAR adaptive platform connectivity and internet of things (IoT) devices in vehicles becoming more common and more robust, being able to measure data in order to adapt is crucial.
Automated AUTOSAR Compliance Reporting
Parasoft’s analytics dashboard with automated AUTOSAR compliance reporting makes it easy to provide the proof required for certification.
For safety and security-critical applications, you’ll want to use our TÜV SÜD certified solution to ensure standards compliance and ease of adoption into your high-performance development processes.
Getting Started
A great thing about proposing AUTOSAR C++14 compliance is that it can be introduced and used at any software development phase of a project. Better yet is that it’s effective even if a project or your ECU software is incomplete and partially coded.
AUTOSAR Challenges
The biggest challenge with introducing AUTOSAR C++14 compliance is that a large amount of code can produce a large number of warnings. Therefore, the focus when integrating AUTOSAR C++14 compliance into a project should be on getting the team productive as soon as possible. This will minimize opportunities for the team to get overwhelmed by static analysis warnings.
As achieving AUTOSAR C++14 compliance becomes part of each developer’s daily routine, they’ll be able to analyze results more quickly and fix bugs more efficiently.
The maturity of the product under development also matters as it impacts the way AUTOSAR C++14 compliance can be incorporated. The adoption life cycle management works as described below.
- Acknowledge and defer. This approach is for existing projects already on the market. Little new code is being developed, so all of the discovered safety bugs and security vulnerabilities are added to the existing technical debt.
- A line in the sand. Existing projects with current development have teams improve new code as it’s developed to defer fewer critical warnings as technical debt.
- Greenfield. New projects adopt this approach. Developers can integrate AUTOSAR C++14 compliance in their development environments from the start to ensure a high standard of quality as code.
Why Parasoft?
The Parasoft code analysis AUTOSAR solution, Parasoft C/C++test, detects complex AUTOSAR C++14 compliance runtime-like problems in an AUTOSAR runtime environment early in the development stage—without the need to execute costly runtime tests. This streamlines development processes in a way that benefits everyone.
C/C++test analyzes the execution paths through the code and finds AUTOSAR C++14 compliance issues like null pointer dereferencing, division by zero, and memory leaks. It also searches for security vulnerabilities such as arithmetic on a pointer operand, buffer overflows, unreachable code, and cstdlib system function
Results from C/C++test’s AUTOSAR C++14 compliance results can be viewed in Parasoft’s dynamic reporting dashboard, enabling automated post-processing and advanced reporting strategies using historical data.
It’s easy to see AUTOSAR C++14 compliance results across builds over time. This is true even when working with large codebases and legacy code where visibility into the code is typically challenging. You can quickly focus on the quality of the newly-added code.
With widgets that automatically track AUTOSAR C++14 compliance, users get a dynamic view into the compliance process, and can easily produce automatic reports for code audits and certification goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
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