Virtual testing in a development environment

• US 7,958,488 B2
• Filed: 08/04/2006
• Issued: 06/07/2011
• 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 G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhen; Wei Y
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nahar; Qamrun
• Application Number:
  US11/462,427
• Publication Number:
  US 20070044078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,768 Days
• Field of Search: 717106-109
• US Class Current: 717/106
• 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 non-transitory 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 that simulates the UUT instead of signals from the physical UUT;

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;

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;

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.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable 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 non-transitory computer-readable 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 non-transitory computer-readable 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 non-transitory computer-readable 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 non-transitory computer-readable 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; and

wherein the program instructions are further executable to;

examine the file to determine if the simulated data was generated in accordance with the one or more parameter values; and

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 non-transitory computer-readable 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 non-transitory computer-readable 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 non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 1,

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

10. The non-transitory computer-readable 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.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 10, 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.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable 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.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable 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.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 13,

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.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable 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.

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

utilizing a computer to perform;

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 that simulates the UUT instead of signals from the physical UUT;

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;

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.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16,

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.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17,

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.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 16,

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

and

wherein the measurement function 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.

20. 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 that simulates the UUT instead of signals from the physical UUT;

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;

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

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

configure 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

execute 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.

21. The system of claim 20,

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.

22. A non-transitory 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 instead of the first device;

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;

receiving user input specifying that the signal analysis function is to receive signals from the first device as the UUT;

configuring the development environment to provide the signals from the first device to the signal analysis function in response to the third user input, wherein said configuring the development environment to provide the signals from the first device to the signal analysis function does not change the signal analysis function; and

executing the measurement program after said configuring the development environment to provide the signals from the first device to the signal analysis function, wherein during said executing the signal analysis function receives the signals from the first device and performs the signal analysis function on the signals from the first device.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 22,

wherein said creating the signal analysis function comprises configuring the first device 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.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 23,

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.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 22,

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

and

wherein the signal analysis function 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.

26. A non-transitory 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), and wherein said creating the measurement program comprises configuring at least one measurement device with one or more parameter values;

receiving second user input specifying that the measurement program is to receive simulated data that simulates the UUT instead of signals from the physical UUT;

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

examining the file to determine if the simulated data was generated in accordance with the one or more parameter values;

indicating 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; 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.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 26,

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.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 27,

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.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 26,

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.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 26,

wherein the file contains the simulated data generated in accordance with the one or more parameter values.

31. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 26,

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.

32. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 26,

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.

33. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 32,

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

34. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 26, 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.

35. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 34, 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.

36. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 26,

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.

37. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 26,

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.

38. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 37,

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.

39. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 26,

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.

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

utilizing a computer to perform;

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 that simulates the UUT instead of signals from the physical UUT;

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

examining the file to determine if the simulated data was generated in accordance with the one or more parameter values;

indicating 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; 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.

41. The computer-implemented method of claim 40,

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.

42. 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 that simulates the UUT instead of signals from the physical UUT;

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

examine the file to determine if the simulated data was generated in accordance with the one or more parameter values;

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; 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.

43. The system of claim 42,

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.