Safe subsets of the Ada language provide the most suitable programming language currently available for software development under safety-critical standards and guidelines such as the FAA's RTCA/DO-178B, the U.K. MoD's DEF STAN 00-55, and other standards such as for nuclear power plants, passenger trains, and space systems.  The advantages made possible by Ada can only be realized, however, through choice of methods and processes that "set up" the Ada through all the previous lifecycle development stages.
 
By combining Domain Engineering methods with Formal Methods, Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems of Marietta, Georgia has been able to produce DO-178B Level A (safety critical) software for its C-130J and C-27J airlifters, at half of typical Ada development costs, and about which IV&V (Independent Verification and Validation) has shown exceeds the integrity of typical Level A software by a factor of ten.   Cutting the density of anomalies in the C-130J/C-27J software has saved and continues to save on program costs that would normally be required for software maintenance and error correction. This further improves the cost viability and effectiveness of these programs. The approach used by Lockheed Martin is equally applicable to other safety-critical and high-integrity software domains.
 

[Return to Workshops]

created 17 August, 2000  -  dfh