C and C++ Testing Tools & Solutions

How It Works

Our static analysis solution aids C/C++ software development organizations in satisfying regulatory coding compliance standards related to safety, security, and reliability. C/C++test’s static analysis seamlessly integrates into the developers’ preferred IDEs, like VS Code or Eclipse, and into modern CI/CD development pipelines. Leveraging sophisticated algorithms to detect potential vulnerabilities, memory leaks, and critical issues, our solution ensures compliance with coding standards.

Using a combination of pattern recognition, rule-based analysis, data and control flow analysis, and metrics analysis, C/C++test offers comprehensive coverage in identifying critical issues, potential pitfalls, and areas for improvement. Teams can tailor and create custom rules or configurations to align with specific project requirements or compliance mandates such as MISRA, CERT, AUTOSAR C++ 14, and more.

Once integrated into the development workflow, our unified C/C++ testing tool can ensure continuous testing at every stage of development, from initial code commits to final deployment. This automation of risk mitigation optimizes productivity and enhances the overall quality of software projects.

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How It Works

C and C++ developers and testers can streamline unit testing processes by automating unit test creation, including mocks, stubs, and assertions, to effectively isolate the unit under test and ensure flawless test case operation. 

Effortlessly create or automatically generate unit tests using the Test Case Explorer, intuitive graphical UI, or a user friendly wizard. Automatic stub generation for missing or undefined functions isolates code units and eases the testing process. By conducting unit testing at various levels—like project, file, and function—with informative views, teams quickly identify and resolve issues. 

Teams can also execute unit tests on target hardware to meet stringent safety-critical requirements. To accommodate diverse open source unit testing deployments, C/C++test CT seamlessly integrates with popular unit testing frameworks like GoogleTest, Boost.Test, CppUnit, and custom solutions to incorporate code coverage.

Comprehensive unit test reports aid in satisfying compliance demands. Advanced analytics in collaboration with Parasoft DTP enable interactive reports and seamless bidirectional requirements traceability with ALM/REQ solutions, enhancing overall testing efficiency and effectiveness.

How It Works

Employ a blend of techniques to ensure code coverage for embedded safety and security-critical applications meet compliance standards. Code instrumentation is central to this effort, which involves integrating additional code into the user codebase to track the execution of statements, branches, and MC/DC code structures. Oftentimes, code coverage must be gathered directly from the target hardware, which our solutions do. 

Together with Parasoft DTP, our C/C++ code coverage solutions collect coverage metrics and produce documentation that’s indispensable for safety-critical applications. Generated reports detail each line of code’s execution status, whether fully, partially, or not covered. This data serves as a critical reference for development teams and certification auditors, facilitating the assessment of code coverage compliance. 

It’s imperative that code coverage analysis tools are TÜV certified for use in safety-critical applications, like C/C++test, C/C++test CT*, and DTP.

*Certification expected Q3 2024.

How It Works

Parasoft C/C++ testing solutions establish a connection to Parasoft DTP and from DTP to the application life cycle management (ALM) or requirements management tool that houses requirements. 

The requirements traceability process begins by importing requirements from the ALM solution into DTP. Requirements can then flow into C/C++test, establishing bidirectional traceability between test cases and down to the code if desired. 

While different implementations exist for C/C++test CT through its CLI interface, it also links test cases to requirements for bidirectional traceability.

Our C/C++ testing solutions facilitate seamless linking between test cases and requirements by annotating each appropriate test case with its corresponding unique requirement ID. The traceability is used to create a requirements traceability matrix, identify any missing gaps, and ensure that each requirement is adequately validated.

Read Blog: Requirements Management and the Traceability Matrix »

How It Works

Ensuring software security requires a systematic approach across the SDLC. Here’s what to do:

1. Conduct a thorough threat analysis. Examine the system’s architecture, design, and implementation for potential vulnerabilities.
2. For implementation, the first line of defense is adopting secure coding standards such as CERT C/C++ or MISRA C/C++. 
3. Apply Parasoft C/C++test for static code analysis to guide development and identify common security pitfalls like buffer overflows, null pointer dereferences, use of insecure libraries, and more.
4. Teams can perform dynamic code analysis to validate the correct implementation of security requirements using our solution, which entails various methods, like unit, integration, system, and regression testing. Utilizing C/C++test or C/C++test CT code coverage, teams ensure comprehensive testing of all implemented security features.
5. Maintain traceability and accountability by establishing clear links between your security test cases and the requirements they validate using C/C++test or C/C++test CT. 

By integrating these practices into the software development process, teams fortify their software’s security posture, reducing the likelihood of security vulnerabilities and exploits.