Embedded World 2013: MISRA standard updated for more clarity

The update is intended to tighten standards in safety critical applications, but also to provide support for the C99 version of C. Originally developed by the Motor Industry Software Reliability Association in 1998, MISRA C is aimed at promoting safety, portability and reliability in embedded systems, particularly for automotive applications. However, the current version of MISRA C targets the C90 version of C. Chris Hills, cto of Phaedrus Systems and a member of the MISRA-C team, said the changes were made as a result of considerable user experience in a range of applications, and of the experience of tools companies in measuring code conformance. "One result is that many of the guidelines are decidable – that is an automated checker can say whether the guideline has been followed," he explained. "Applying the guidelines and using code analysis tools greatly improves the quality of code and the productivity of developers. "Integrating them within a tool chain, from requirements specification through to unit testing and even tracking the different variants in deployment, provides the best way of demonstrating that a system will meet the demands of certification authorities for safety critical applications."