TestStand Automated testing
Chapter 1 introduces the standard automated test system architecture, with test management software at the top of the five-tier architecture model
The upper layer, which is used to manage and execute tests. In all automated test systems, there is a product - dependent
There are different operations, and there are operations that are common to all products, so you can make these operations general and specific
Table 2-1 lists the operations. Specific operations are placed in code modules and completed by the application development environment
While system-level operations can be shared between different test stations for different products and are connected by test management software
The management and test management software is responsible for both the management and execution of the code modules, which significantly increases the code weight
Rate and greatly reduce the development workload of engineers, who can use test management software provided off the shelf
Architecture to focus more on the implementation of code modules, while ensuring system robustness and scalability
Proof.
The first version of TestStand was created in 1998 as a standard commercial test management software
It has the operation interface based on graphics and has the test management and execution functions required by test management software.
However, TestStand does much more than that. It can call most applications written by major application development environments
Code modules, TestStand also tries to reuse existing code to reduce redundant development. Not only that,
TestStand has a parallel execution engine that can greatly improve test efficiency for high-volume production systems
Strict production requirements. TestStand's features in 959 are as follows:
Test management and execution;
Common test architecture simplifies test software development;
With a graphical operation interface;
Code modules that support mainstream application development environments;
Support multithreaded parallel testing;
Built-in test strategy;
With custom user interface design;
With open architecture, can be customized;
Automatically generate ASCII, HTML, XML, ATML reports;
Supports interconnection with Access, Oracle, and SQL Server databases.
Since TestStand's architecture is open, third-party applications and applications are developed based on the TestStand platform
It is very rich. TestStand currently has more than 20 partners (see Figure 2-1) and has developed many
Applications and tools such as distributed data management, cellular testing, audio and video testing, switch management, requirements management
Management, statistical analysis, semiconductor testing, user interface development, boundary scanning, configuration management, etc. TestStand
Is building a strong community that allows developers to take advantage of community resources on the platform
TestStand application promotion.
Since the application of automated testing industry covers consumer electronics, automotive, medical, semiconductor, communications, aviation
Aerospace, industrial machinery, energy, etc., and TestStand's own characteristics and strengths enable it to operate in all of these industries
It has a very wide range of applications. Figure 2-2 shows the TestStand industry profile as of 2013
Meter.
Figure 2-2 Industry application statistics of TestStand
TestStand application case
Lockheed Martin uses TestStand and LabWinodws/CVI
The LM-STAR test system was developed to provide integrated support for the avionics test system for combat against JSF
The bucket machine performs tests from production and environmental load screening to recharge.
Motorola (acquired by Google in 2011) developed a comprehensive based on a stStand and LabVIEW
Combined test station, under the same test platform can test a variety of different cell base station products, so that two tests
Test teams I, D, C, and ATE were able to use the integrated unified platform, greatly reducing and simplifying test development costs
Later system update and maintenance.
Tests are provided by Texas Instruments, Inc., TestStand and LabVIEW
The experimental development, management and automatic functions have simplified the Characterization process of the company's characterization operation
To address the increasingly complex design challenges of wireless and RF devices.
DISTek uses TestStand and LabVIEW to design ECUs (Electronic) for cars
The test system of Control Unit requires the system to have enough flexibility and adapt to the change of hardware platform

The whole system should cover the design, prototype, development and deployment phases of the product.

Lifeline Systems uses TestStand and LabVIEW to develop phones and communications for medical use
Test system, user - friendly interface, and greatly improve the test throughput.
Cochlear is using a mixed-signal test system developed by TestStand for a new generation of auditory implants
The test of TestStand's existing testing architecture dramatically reduces the development and testing time for new products, while also decreasing
Lower the risk.
Flextronics has developed a proprietary generic test platform based on TestStand.
The F-D-S platform is widely used in different Flextronics plants, different products, and different operators
TestStand ensures stable operation and the stress of system maintenance is greatly reduced.
2.2 Common Terms of TestStand
Automated test system It contains many tests and operations. In TestStand, through the sequence file
(Sequence File), Main Sequence, Subsequence, and step
Step Group, Step tree structure to organize different tests and actions (e.g
See Figure 2-3.
Figure 2-3 TestStand test and operation tree structure
Step(step)
A step is the smallest unit in a TestStand test program. Even the most complex test program consists of many steps
Composed of. A step represents a specific action, such as initializing an instrument, testing an item, which can be taken with
Any of the following implementation forms: pop-up dialogs, flow controls, calculated expressions, etc. TestStand internal definitions
The operation of Call the code module written by the application development environment; Calls other test subsequences
SubSequence (SubSequence), which is described later.
Code Module(Code Module)
A step that calls modules of code written in different application development environments is one of TestStand
Big feature. How does TestStand identify these code modules and interact with them with data? With the help of
TestStand integrates a Module Adapter for different languages
So that TestStand can parse the code module when the step calls it, both in terms of incoming data and in terms of incoming data
Gets the return value. TestStand currently supports LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, and C/C +
Figure 2-4 shows languages such as +,.NET, ActiveX/COM, and HTBasic.
Figure 2-4 Programming languages supported by TestStand
Sequence(sequence)
A sequence is an ordered combination of steps. Putting the different steps in order forms a sequence
Column. By default, the steps that make up the sequence are executed sequentially, unless some of the steps modify the default Settings
Causes execution to jump, usually the test program will contain multiple sequences.
Step Groups Step groups
To better organize the steps, TestStand divides each sequence into three step groups
Setup Group, Main Group, Cleanup Group
Group). Each step group contains a series of steps.
Setup group: Usually includes the steps of initializing the instrument, fixture, test, and resource allocation.
Body group: The body part of a sequence that contains most of the steps, such as the testing of the item under test.
Cleaning group: usually includes shutting down the system power and restoring the test instrument, fixture and parts to be tested to the initial state
State, resource release and shutdown operations.
Dividing a sequence into three step groups as described above provides two benefits: one is that the developer can use
If you put them in the right group, the whole sequence becomes more orderly; The second is TestStand
There are built-in mechanisms to ensure that the test system runs into errors, product test failures, or
When the operator terminates the test, TestStand automatically jumps to the cleanup group and waits for the cleanup group to complete
Exit. This mechanism ensures that the test instrument, fixture and parts to be tested can return to the pre-setting in case of an accident
State to protect the entire system. The setup and cleanup groups can be empty and do not contain any steps.
Sequence Fi e(Sequence file)
At the top of the TestStand tree are sequence files. A sequence file can contain more than one sequence
Column. In general, there will be a MainSequence and several other sequences due to the whole
A sequence can be called as a step, so a sequence can call other sequences. The called sequence is called
Subsequence. The subsequence is similar to the subvi in LabVIEW and the subfunction in text programming
The steps of the sequence are placed in the subsequence and called as a step by the main sequence, which makes the leading sequence very simple
Clean, and it is easier to achieve modularization, making the reuse of code easier. The subsequence can be the same
Within a sequence file, or from different sequence files. For the test program, its hold
The line starts with the main sequence of the sequence file, which calls the subsequence during execution.
TestStand has a hierarchical structure that makes test management very organized.
2.3 TestStand components
How does TestStand implement test management? This requires an understanding of its system composition, TestStand contains a number of tolerations
Multiple components :Sequence Editor, User Interface,
TestStand Engine, Module Adapters, and Adapters.
Figure 2-5 shows the TestStand Deployment Utility (TestStand Deployment Utility)
The TestStand deployment tool is relatively independent and is not listed in the figure.
Figure 2-5 System components of TestStand
TestStand Engine(TestStand Engine)
Figure 2-5 simply shows the interrelationships between the TestStand components. As you can see, TestStand leads
The engine is the core part of the TestStand system. The TestStand engine is actually an ActiveX-based automation
The server, through the application Programming Interface (API), exposes its functionality to the client, through TestStand
The API can create, edit, execute, or debug sequences. In TestStand, the sequence editor, the user
Interfaces and module adapters belong to their clients. The TestStand engine can be likened to an invisible engine
Hand, because it doesn't have an interface, but it supports everything in the background.
Sequence Editor
The sequence editor (shown in Figure 2-6) is one of the most important development tools in TestStand,
Most of TestStand's development work is done in the sequence editor. It provides a graphical opening
Send an environment where test developers can create, edit, execute, or debug sequences in the sequence editor. figure
For example, a step can be added by dragging and dropping in the sequence editor
But the bottom line actually involves a series of actions. TestStand needs to create a pair of steps first
Image, then set the object properties, and finally add the object to the main sequence. This sequence of actions is done through
The TestStand API accesses the TestStand engine to do this, but to the user, it just does a drag and drop
". Most of the time we don't need direct access to the TestStand engine, the graphical bounds of the sequence editor
Surface simplifies the process of creating complex applications for users. In fact, TestStand provides a layered architecture:
The presentation layer (what the user sees) and the logical layer (the operations performed in the background corresponding to an action by the user
Do). The sequence editor and the user interface described later belong to the presentation layer, while the TestStand engine does
The TestStand API belongs to the logical layer. We only access it directly through the TestStand API on certain occasions