Since the early years of computing, programmers, systems analysts, and software engineers have sought ways to improve development process efficiency. Software development tools are programs that help developers create other programs and automate mundane operations while bringing the level of abstraction closer to the application engineer. In practice, software development tools have been in wide use among safety-critical system developers. Typical application areas include space, aviation, automotive, nuclear, railroad, medical, and military. While their use is widespread in safety-critical systems, the tools do not always assure the safe behavior of their respective products. This study examines the assumptions, practices, and criteria for assessing software development tools for building safety-critical real-time systems. Experiments were designed for an avionics testbed and conducted on six industry-strength tools to assess their functionality, usability, efficiency, and traceability. The results shed some light on possible improvements in the tool evaluation process that can lead to potential tool qualification for safety-critical real-time systems.

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This paper presents an overview and discusses the role of certification in safety-critical computer systems focusing on software, and partially hardware, used in the civil aviation domain. It discusses certification activities according to RTCA DO-178B "Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification" and touches on tool qualification according to RTCA DO-254 "Design Assurance Guidance for Airborne Electronic Hardware." Specifically, certification issues as related to real-time operating systems and programming languages are reviewed, as well as software development tools and complex electronic hardware tool qualification processes are discussed. Results of an independent industry survey done by the authors are also presented.

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