Virtual Testing In A Development Environment

• US 20070044078A1
• Filed: 08/04/2006
• Published: 02/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: National Instruments Corporation (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: National Instruments Corporation (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Cifra, Christopher
• Granted Patent: US 7,958,488 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/135
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 13/02 for displaying measured electric variables in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/318357 Simulation computer simulation of digital circuits G06F30/3308
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2111/02 CAD in a network environment, e.g. collaborative CAD or distributed simulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming

Abstract

System and method for developing a measurement program that performs a measurement function. A measurement program is created in a development environment in response to first user input, possibly including configuring a physical unit under test (UUT) with one or more parameter values. The measurement program includes icons that visually indicate the measurement function, and is executable to receive signals from the physical (UUT). Second user input is received specifying that the measurement program is to receive simulated data instead of signals from the physical UUT. In response, the development environment is configured to provide the simulated data to the measurement program, possibly including configuring the simulated data according to the parameter value(s). The configuring does not change the measurement program. After the configuration, the measurement program is executed, where during execution the measurement program receives the simulated data and performs the measurement function on the simulated data.

Claims

1. A computer-readable memory medium comprising program instructions for developing a measurement program that performs a measurement function, wherein the memory medium is useable in a system comprising a display, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement:

creating the measurement program in a development environment in response to first user input, wherein the measurement program comprises a plurality of icons that visually indicate the measurement function performed by the measurement program, wherein the measurement program is executable to receive signals from a physical unit under test (UUT);

receiving second user input specifying that the measurement program is to receive simulated data;

configuring the development environment to provide the simulated data to the measurement program in response to the second user input, wherein said configuring does not change the measurement program; and

executing the measurement program after said configuring, wherein during said executing the measurement program receives the simulated data and performs the measurement function on the simulated data.

2. The memory medium of claim 1,

wherein said creating the measurement program comprises configuring the physical UUT with one or more parameter values;

and

wherein said configuring the development environment to provide the simulated data comprises configuring the simulated data according to the one or more parameter values.

3. The memory medium of claim 2,

wherein said configuring the development environment to provide the simulated data comprises configuring a simulator to generate the simulated data according to the one or more parameter values.

4. The memory medium of claim 1,

wherein said configuring the development environment to provide the simulated data comprises receiving user input specifying a file from a memory, wherein the file contains the simulated data.

5. The memory medium of claim 4,

wherein said creating the measurement program comprises configuring at least one measurement device with one or more parameter values;

and

wherein said configuring the development environment to provide the simulated data comprises receiving user input specifying a file from a memory, wherein the file contains the simulated data generated in accordance with the one or more parameter values.

6. The memory medium of claim 4,

wherein said creating the measurement program comprises configuring at least one measurement device with one or more parameter values;

wherein said configuring the development environment to provide the simulated data comprises receiving user input selecting a file from a memory;

wherein said configuring the measurement program to receive the simulated data comprises examining the file to determine if the simulated data was generated in accordance with the one or more parameter values; and

wherein the program instructions are further executable to indicate that the simulated data was not generated in accordance with the one or more parameter values if the simulated data was not generated in accordance with the one or more parameter values.

7. The memory medium of claim 1,

wherein the development environment is a graphical data flow program development environment;

and

wherein the measurement program comprises a plurality of interconnected icons forming a data flow diagram, wherein connections between the icons indicate that data produced by one icon is used by another icon.

8. The memory medium of claim 1,

wherein each of the icons represents a respective portion of the measurement function;

and

wherein the plurality of icons are arranged to visually indicate an order of the respective portions of the measurement function.

9. The memory medium of claim 1,

receiving third user input specifying that the measurement program is to receive signals from the physical UUT;

configuring the development environment to provide the signals from the physical UUT to the measurement program in response to the third user input, wherein said configuring the development environment to provide the signals from the physical UUT to the measurement program does not change the measurement program; and

executing the measurement program after said configuring the development environment to provide the signals from the physical UUT to the measurement program, wherein during said executing the measurement program receives the signals from the physical UUT and performs the measurement function on the signals from the physical UUT.

10. The memory medium of claim 9,

wherein said third user input is received during said executing the measurement program using the simulated data.

11. The memory medium of claim 1, wherein the program instructions are further executable to implement:

executing the measurement program to measure the physical UUT prior to said configuring, wherein said executing the measurement program to measure the physical UUT comprises the measurement program receiving signals from the physical UUT;

wherein said receiving second user input specifying that the measurement program is to receive simulated data is performed after said executing the measurement program to measure the physical UUT.

12. The memory medium of claim 11, wherein in response to the user input specifying that the measurement program is to receive simulated data, the program instructions are further executable to implement one or more of:

pausing or stopping execution of the measurement program; and

disabling the physical UUT.

13. The memory medium of claim 1,

wherein said configuring the development environment to provide the simulated data to the measurement program comprises redirecting input to the measurement program from the physical UUT to a source of the simulated data.

14. The memory medium of claim 1,

wherein the development environment comprises a driver for interfacing to the physical UUT;

wherein said configuring the development environment to provide the simulated data to the measurement program comprises configuring the driver to provide the simulated data to the measurement program instead of data from the physical UUT.

15. The memory medium of claim 14,

receiving third user input specifying that the measurement program is to receive signals from the physical UUT;

configuring the driver to provide the signals from the physical UUT to the measurement program instead of the simulated data, wherein said configuring the driver to provide the signals from the physical UUT is performed in response to the third user input.

16. The memory medium of claim 1,

wherein the development environment is operable to execute the measurement program in a continuous execution mode, wherein said creating the measurement program comprises:

receiving user input specifying continuous execution of the measurement program; and

receiving user input specifying each of a plurality of operations in the measurement program; and

wherein the program instructions are further executable to implement;

the measurement program executing as each operation is specified, wherein, after each operation is specified, the operation is performed substantially continuously.

17. A computer-implemented method for developing a measurement program that performs a measurement function, comprising:

creating the measurement program in a development environment in response to first user input, wherein the measurement program comprises a plurality of icons that visually indicate the measurement function performed by the measurement program, wherein the measurement program is executable to receive signals from a physical unit under test (UUT);

receiving second user input specifying that the measurement program is to receive simulated data;

configuring the development environment to provide the simulated data to the measurement program in response to the second user input, wherein said configuring does not change the measurement program; and

executing the measurement program after said configuring, wherein during said executing the measurement program receives the simulated data and performs the measurement function on the simulated data.

18. The method of claim 17,

wherein said creating the measurement program comprises configuring the physical UUT with one or more parameter values;

and

wherein said configuring the development environment to provide the simulated data comprises configuring the simulated data according to the one or more parameter values.

19. A measurement system, comprising:

a processor;

a memory medium coupled to the processor; and

a physical unit under test (UUT) coupled to the memory medium and the processor;

wherein the memory medium stores program instructions executable by the processor to;

create the measurement program in a development environment in response to first user input, wherein the measurement program comprises a plurality of icons that visually indicate the measurement function performed by the measurement program, wherein the measurement program is executable to receive signals from the physical unit under test (UUT);

receive second user input specifying that the measurement program is to receive simulated data;

configure the development environment to provide the simulated data to the measurement program in response to the second user input, wherein said configuring does not change the measurement program; and

execute the measurement program after said configuring, wherein during execution the measurement program receives the simulated data and performs the measurement function on the simulated data.

20. The system of claim 19,

wherein to create the measurement program, the program instructions are executable to configure the physical UUT with one or more parameter values;

and

wherein to configure the development environment to provide the simulated data, the program instructions are executable to configure the simulated data according to the one or more parameter values.

21. A computer-readable memory medium comprising program instructions for developing a signal analysis function, wherein the memory medium is useable in a system comprising a display, wherein the program instructions are executable by a processor to implement:

interactively specifying a plurality of operations of a signal analysis function via user input, wherein the signal analysis function is executable to send signals to and/or receive signals from a unit under test (UUT), wherein the plurality of operations comprise at least one of

     1) generating signals displayed in a graph, and

     2) modifying one or more signals displayed in the graph, and wherein the plurality of operations are represented by a respective plurality of icons arranged to visually indicate the signal analysis function;

executing the signal analysis function to generate and display signal analysis results for a first device, wherein the first device is specified as the UUT;

configuring a simulation for the signal analysis function, wherein the simulation is executable by a computer system to simulate a second device;

receiving user input specifying the simulation as the UUT; and

in response to the user input specifying the simulation as the UUT, executing the signal analysis function to generate and display signal analysis results for the simulation.