TABLE OF CONTENTS Running software on TLM platforms leads to splitting software in three layered categories that correspond to the three principal software-testing layers: unit test, integration test, and validation test. For each layer, TLM platforms offer software developers the simulated platform that they need for executing and debugging their software. The choice of the accuracy level of TLM platforms is crucial, as the software will appear to run less efficiently on a more accurate platform. Figure 4-5 recalls the idea of relating different software families and environments in the V-diagram of software testing.
Developing a complete system based on TLM platforms can significantly improve the methodology and the schedule of the hardware and software design. Software developers are able to test their codes on simulated but accurate hardware platform long before the real hardware prototype is ready. Even after the real hardware is made available, TLM platforms continue to bring software developers important information that is not obtainable from the real hardware. Essentially, TLM platforms play the central role in hardware/software development as a common exchange platform between these two development teams.
TLM platforms are also considered as the software bug amplifiers. They reveal a more general behavior of the hardware, which is normally not easily accessible to software developers. This advantage reinforces good software practices for software families ranging from low-level codes to software architecture layering.
In conclusion, TLM platforms shorten the global time-to-market and raise the overall quality of...
