Auto-scheduling of tests

• US 8,234,089 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2002
• Issued: 07/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: National Instruments Corporation (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: National Instruments Corporation (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Grey, James A., Elizalde, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): West, Jeffrey R
• Application Number:
  US10/289,798
• Publication Number:
  US 20040093180A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,554 Days
• Field of Search: 702/108, 702/117, 702/118, 702/119, 702/121, 702/123, 702/182
• US Class Current: 702/123
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/263 Generation of test inputs, e.g. test vectors, patterns or sequences ; with adaptation of the tested hardware for testability with external testers

Abstract

System and method for performing a multiple tests on each of one or more units, where each of the tests requires a respective resource of a plurality of resources. A first test is performed on a unit using a first resource. During performance of the first test, a search is made for a second test, requiring a second resource, where the second resource is not currently being used. If the second test is found, the second test is performed on the unit, or a second unit, using the second resource, substantially concurrently with at least a portion of the first test being performed on the unit. Performing a test includes locking the respective resource to exclude use by other tests, including acquiring the resource, and unlocking the resource upon completion of the test, including releasing the resource for use in performing the respective test on another of the units.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

a computer system creating a test executive sequence in response to user input, wherein creating the test executive sequence comprises;

the computer system including an auto-schedule block in the test executive sequence in response to user input requesting inclusion of an automatic scheduling feature in the test executive sequence, wherein including the auto-schedule block comprises displaying a visual indication in the test executive sequence that an execution order for test steps within the auto-schedule block is not fixed and should be automatically determined during execution of the test executive sequence; and

the computer system including a plurality of test steps in the auto-schedule block in response to user input selecting each respective test step of the plurality of test steps and requesting inclusion of the respective test step in the auto-schedule block, wherein each respective test step specifies a corresponding test, wherein an execution order for the plurality of test steps is not fixed, and wherein including the plurality of test steps in the auto-schedule block configures their execution order to be automatically determined during execution of the test executive sequence;

wherein the method further comprises the computer system concurrently executing the test executive sequence on a plurality of physical units under test (UUTs), wherein each respective UUT comprises a respective physical device, wherein the test executive sequence is executed on each respective UUT by a respective thread;

wherein for each respective thread, the computer system automatically determines an order in which the respective thread should execute the plurality of test steps in response to determining that the plurality of test steps are included in the auto-schedule block, wherein the respective thread executes the plurality of test steps in the determined order;

wherein the computer system determines that a first thread should execute a first step of the plurality of test steps before a second step of the plurality of test steps, and wherein the computer system determines that a second thread should execute the second step before the first step.

2. The method of claim 1,

wherein each of the tests specified by the plurality of test steps requires a respective physical resource;

wherein for each respective thread, said automatically determining the order and said executing the plurality of test steps in the determined order comprise;

programmatically searching the tests to select a respective test according to search criteria specifying that

     1) the respective test has not yet been performed on the respective UUT corresponding to the respective thread, and

     2) the respective physical resource required by the respective test is available for use;

locking the respective physical resource required by the respective test, wherein said locking comprises acquiring the respective physical resource;

the respective thread performing the respective test on the respective UUT corresponding to the respective thread; and

unlocking the respective physical resource required by the respective test, wherein said unlocking comprises releasing the respective physical resource.

3. The method of claim 2,

wherein said searching, said locking, said performing, and said unlocking are repeatedly performed by the computer system until each of the plurality of tests has been executed by each respective thread.

4. The method of claim 2,

wherein said programmatically searching the tests comprises iteratively searching the tests.

5. The method of claim 1,

wherein each test step of the plurality of test steps requires a respective physical resource;

wherein creating the test executive sequence further comprises;

for each respective test step of the plurality of test steps, the computer system receiving user input specifying the respective physical resource required by the respective test step.

6. The method of claim 1,

wherein each of the tests specified by the plurality of test steps requires a respective physical resource;

wherein for each respective thread, the order in which the thread should execute the plurality of test steps is automatically determined by the computer system based on availability of the physical resources required by the tests.

7. The method of claim 1,

wherein creating the test executive sequence further comprises the computer system including a plurality of auto-scheduled sections in the auto-schedule block in response to user input;

wherein said including the plurality of test steps in the auto-schedule block comprises including each respective test step in a corresponding auto-scheduled section.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein each respective auto-scheduled section in the plurality of auto-scheduled sections includes:

a lock resource step, wherein the lock resource step indicates locking a respective resource, wherein the test step included in the respective auto-scheduled section requires locking of the respective resource; and

an unlock resource step, wherein the unlock resource step indicates unlocking the respective resource.

9. The method of claim 1,

wherein the auto-schedule block includes a begin step, wherein the begin step indicates initiation of the auto-schedule block;

wherein the auto-schedule block also includes an end step, wherein the end step indicates termination of the auto-schedule block;

wherein said including the plurality of test steps in the auto-schedule block comprises including the plurality of test steps between the begin step and the end step;

wherein the method further comprises the computer system displaying the begin step and the end step within the test executive sequence.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the computer system displaying the test executive sequence on a display, wherein the displayed test executive sequence visually indicates that the plurality of test steps are included in the auto-schedule block.

11. The method of claim 1,

wherein creating the test executive sequence further comprises the computer system receiving user input specifying one or more ordering constraints imposed on at least a subset of the plurality of test steps;

wherein for each respective thread, the order in which the thread should execute the plurality of test steps is automatically determined by the computer system at least in part based on the one or more ordering constraints.

12. The method of claim 1,

wherein said creating the test executive sequence comprises the computer system storing information in one or more data structures, wherein the information in the one or more data structures represents the test executive sequence.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable memory medium storing program instructions executable to:

create a test executive sequence in response to user input, wherein in creating the test executive sequence the program instructions are executable to;

include an auto-schedule block in the test executive sequence in response to user input requesting inclusion of an automatic scheduling feature in the test executive sequence, wherein in including the auto-schedule block the program instructions are executable to display a visual indication in the test executive sequence which visually indicates that an execution order for test steps within the auto-schedule block is not fixed and should be automatically determined during execution of the test executive sequence; and

include a plurality of test steps in the auto-schedule block in response to user input selecting each respective test step of the plurality of test steps and requesting inclusion of the respective test step in the auto-schedule block, wherein each respective test step specifies a corresponding test, wherein an execution order for the plurality of test steps is not fixed, and wherein in including the plurality of test steps in the auto-schedule block the program instructions are executable to configure their execution order to be automatically determined during execution of the test executive sequence;

wherein the program instructions are further executable to concurrently execute the test executive sequence on a plurality of physical units under test (UUTs), wherein each respective UUT comprises a respective physical device, wherein the test executive sequence is executed on each respective UUT by a respective thread;

wherein for each respective thread, the program instructions are executable to automatically determine an order in which the respective thread should execute the plurality of test steps in response to determining that the plurality of test steps are included in the auto-schedule block; and

wherein the program instructions are executable to determine that a first thread should execute a first step of the plurality of test steps before a second step of the plurality of test steps, and wherein the program instructions are executable to determine that a second thread should execute the second step before the first step.

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

wherein each of the tests specified by the plurality of test steps requires a respective physical resource;

wherein the program instructions are executable to;

programmatically search the tests to select a respective test according to search criteria specifying that

     1) the respective test has not yet been performed on a respective UUT, and

     2) the respective physical resource required by the respective test is available for use;

lock the respective physical resource required by the respective test, wherein said locking comprises acquiring the respective physical resource;

perform the respective test on the respective UUT; and

unlock the respective physical resource required by the respective test, wherein said unlocking comprises releasing the respective physical resource.

15. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 14,

wherein for each respective UUT of the plurality of UUTs, the program instructions are executable to perform said searching, said locking, said performing, and said unlocking repeatedly until each of the plurality of tests has been performed on the respective UUT.

16. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 14,

wherein said programmatically searching the tests comprises iteratively searching the tests.

17. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 13,

wherein each test step of the plurality of test steps requires a respective physical resource;

wherein in creating the test executive sequence the program instructions are further executable to;

for each respective test step of the plurality of test steps, receive user input specifying the respective physical resource required by the respective test step.

18. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 13,

wherein each of the tests specified by the plurality of test steps requires a respective physical resource;

wherein for each respective thread, the program instructions are executable to automatically determine the order in which the thread should execute the plurality of test steps based on availability of the physical resources required by the tests.

19. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 13,

wherein the program instructions are further executable to include a plurality of auto-scheduled sections in the auto-schedule block in response to user input;

wherein in including the plurality of test steps in the auto-schedule block, the program instructions are executable to include each respective test step in a corresponding auto-scheduled section.

20. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 19, wherein each respective auto-scheduled section in the plurality of auto-scheduled sections includes:

a lock resource step, wherein the lock resource step indicates locking a respective resource, wherein the test step included in the respective auto-scheduled section requires locking of the respective resource; and

an unlock resource step, wherein the unlock resource step indicates unlocking the respective resource.

21. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 13,

wherein the auto-schedule block includes a begin step, wherein the begin step indicates initiation of the auto-schedule block;

wherein the auto-schedule block also includes an end step, wherein the end step indicates termination of the auto-schedule block;

wherein the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to include the plurality of test steps in the auto-schedule block between the begin step and the end step;

wherein the program instructions are further executable to display the begin step and

the end step within the test executive sequence.

22. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 13, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

display the test executive sequence on a display, wherein the displayed test executive sequence visually indicates that the plurality of test steps are included in the auto-schedule block.

23. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 13,

wherein in creating the test executive sequence the program instructions are further executable to receive user input specifying one or more ordering constraints imposed on at least a subset of the plurality of test steps;

wherein for each respective thread, the program instructions are executable to automatically determine the order in which the thread should execute the plurality of test steps based at least in part on the one or more ordering constraints.

24. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 13,

wherein in creating the test executive sequence the program instructions are executable to store information in one or more data structures, wherein the information in the one or more data structures represents the test executive sequence.

25. A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory medium storing program instructions;

wherein the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to;

create a test executive sequence in response to user input, wherein in creating the test executive sequence the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to;

include an auto-schedule block in the test executive sequence in response to user input requesting inclusion of an automatic scheduling feature in the test executive sequence, wherein in including the auto-schedule block the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to display a visual indication in the test executive sequence which visually indicates that an execution order for test steps within the auto-schedule block is not fixed and should be automatically determined during execution of the test executive sequence; and

include a plurality of test steps in the auto-schedule block in response to user input selecting each respective test step of the plurality of test steps and requesting inclusion of the respective test step in the auto-schedule block, wherein each respective test step specifies a corresponding test, wherein an execution order for the plurality of test steps is not fixed, and wherein in including the plurality of test steps in the auto-schedule block the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to configure their execution order to be automatically determined during execution of the test executive sequence;

wherein the program instructions are further executable by the at least one processor to concurrently execute the test executive sequence on a plurality of physical units under test (UUTs), wherein each respective UUT comprises a respective physical device, wherein the test executive sequence is executed on each respective UUT by a respective thread;

wherein for each respective thread, the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to automatically determine an order in which the respective thread should execute the plurality of test steps in response to determining that the plurality of test steps are included in the auto-schedule block; and

wherein the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to determine that a first thread should execute a first step of the plurality of test steps before a second step of the plurality of test steps, and wherein the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to determine that a second thread should execute the second step before the first step.

26. The system of claim 25,

wherein each of the tests specified by the plurality of test steps requires a respective physical resource;

wherein the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to;

programmatically search the tests to select a respective test according to search criteria specifying that

     1) the respective test has not yet been performed on a respective UUT, and

     2) the respective physical resource required by the respective test is available for use;

lock the respective physical resource required by the respective test, wherein said locking comprises acquiring the respective physical resource;

perform the respective test on the respective UUT; and

unlock the respective physical resource required by the respective test, wherein said unlocking comprises releasing the respective physical resource.

27. The system of claim 26,

wherein for each respective UUT of the plurality of UUTs, the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to perform said searching, said locking, said performing, and said unlocking repeatedly until each of the plurality of tests has been performed on the respective UUT.

28. The system of claim 26,

wherein said programmatically searching the tests comprises iteratively searching the tests.

29. The system of claim 25,

wherein each test step of the plurality of test steps requires a respective physical resource;

wherein in creating the test executive sequence the program instructions are further executable by the at least one processor to;

for each respective test step of the plurality of test steps, receive user input specifying the respective physical resource required by the respective test step.

30. The system of claim 25,

wherein each of the tests specified by the plurality of test steps requires a respective physical resource;

wherein for each respective thread, the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to automatically determine the order in which the thread should execute the plurality of test steps based on availability of the physical resources required by the tests.

31. The system of claim 25,

wherein the program instructions are further executable by the at least one processor to include a plurality of auto-scheduled sections in the auto-schedule block in response to user input;

wherein in including the plurality of test steps in the auto-schedule block, the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to include each respective test step in a corresponding auto-scheduled section.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein each respective auto-scheduled section in the plurality of auto-scheduled sections includes:

a lock resource step, wherein the lock resource step indicates locking a respective resource, wherein the test step included in the respective auto-scheduled section requires locking of the respective resource; and

an unlock resource step, wherein the unlock resource step indicates unlocking the respective resource.

33. The system of claim 25,

wherein the auto-schedule block includes a begin step, wherein the begin step indicates initiation of the auto-schedule block;

wherein the auto-schedule block also includes an end step, wherein the end step indicates termination of the auto-schedule block;

wherein the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to include the plurality of test steps in the auto-schedule block between the begin step and the end step;

wherein the program instructions are further executable by the at least one processor to display the begin step and the end step within the test executive sequence.

34. The system of claim 25, wherein the program instructions are further executable by the at least one processor to:

display the test executive sequence on a display, wherein the displayed test executive sequence visually indicates that the plurality of test steps are included in the auto-schedule block.

35. The system of claim 25,

wherein in creating the test executive sequence the program instructions are further executable by the at least one processor to receive user input specifying one or more ordering constraints imposed on at least a subset of the plurality of test steps;

wherein for each respective thread, the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to automatically determine the order in which the thread should execute the plurality of test steps based at least in part on the one or more ordering constraints.

36. The system of claim 25,

wherein in creating the test executive sequence the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to store information in one or more data structures, wherein the information in the one or more data structures represents the test executive sequence.