AdaCore upgrades GNAT Pro, CodePeer, QGen, and SPARK Pro software development, verification tools

EMBEDDED WORLD, NUREMBERG, Germany. AdaCore, with headquarters in New York and Paris, has upgraded its four major software solutions for developing and verifying safety-critical systems.

“Developing and verifying critical systems is a challenging task, especially when certification against software standards such as DO-178C or EN 50128 is required,” AdaCore President Cyrille Comar says. “The latest version of our products will help organizations meet this challenge, through enhancements such as QGen’s model-level debugger and CodePeer’s detection of dangerous CWE weaknesses. Customers have long relied on AdaCore’s tools and services when producing safety-critical or high-security software, and our V17.1 product line marks a continuation of our commitment.”

The latest versions of AdaCore’s software tools include:

GNAT Pro 17.1, a development environment for Ada and C, on native and cross platforms;

CodePeer 17.1, a deep static analysis tool for Ada that can identify bugs and vulnerabilities both during development and retrospectively on existing code bases;

QGen 17.1, a model-based development and verification toolset for Simulink and Stateflow models, which generates code in MISRA-C or SPARK; and

SPARK Pro 17.1, a verification environment that brings mathematics-based assurance to high-integrity software.

GNAT Pro includes a full-featured build toolset for Ada and C, Integrated Development Environments (the GNAT Programming Studio, GPS and the Eclipse-based GNATbench), a comprehensive suite of tools (a visual debugger, a coding standard checker, etc.), and an extensive set of libraries and bindings.

The GNAT Pro 17.1 release, based on GCC 6 and GDB 7.10, includes improved debugger support under GPS, a better algorithm for Ada elaboration order, enhancements to the GPRbuild multi-language build tool, better integration of GNATtest and GNATcoverage, an implementation of the extended Ravenscar profile on bare metal targets, and support for SMP on leon3. The supplemental GNATcoverage dynamic analysis tool has been upgraded with incremental coverage analysis, improved object code coverage, and support for ARM bare metal and native Windows (both 32- and 64-bit) platforms.

CodePeer is an Ada source code analyzer that detects run-time and logic errors, including a number of weaknesses among the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) Top 25 Most Dangerous Software Errors. CodePeer 17.1 provides improvements in the handling of “false alarms,” more precise diagnostic messages, and a variety of user interface enhancements. The tool has been designated as “CWE Compatible” in the MITRE Corporation’s Common Weakness Enumeration Compatibility and Effectiveness Program.

QGen is a qualifiable and tunable code generator and model verification tool suite for a safe subset of Simulink and Stateflow models, particularly oriented towards real-time control software in safety-critical systems. QGen 17.1 includes a model-level debugger that is unique in the industry, allowing synchronized views and execution control between the model and the generated code. QGen 17.1 also includes support for Processor-in-the-Loop (PIL) testing, an enhanced user interface, improved code generation, and the implementation of additional blocks.

SPARK Pro is an integrated static analysis tool suite for verifying high-integrity software through formal methods. It supports the SPARK 2014 language and can be used at various levels, for example to demonstrate the absence of run-time errors. SPARK uses the same contract-based programming syntax as Ada 2012, facilitating “hybrid verification” that combines traditional testing and formal methods. SPARK Pro 17.1 brings improved proof automation and enhanced proof interaction (including the generation of counterexamples).

All V17.1 products are available now.

Founded in 1994, AdaCore supplies software development and verification tools for mission-critical, safety-critical, and security-critical systems. Over the years customers have used AdaCore products to field and maintain a wide range of critical applications in domains such as space systems, commercial avionics, rail systems, military systems, air traffic management/control, medical devices, and financial services.

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