RegenerATE™ – CACI, International, INC

Overview

CACI's RegenerATE software tool provides a cost-effective migration path for upgrading to NI’s TestStand while still salvaging the significant investment in legacy test software developed in ATLAS. RegenerATE produces a TestStand sequence file that is consistent with the original design of the original ATLAS code while taking advantage of the powerful features in TestStand. This allows for code traceability back to the original ATLAS, or even back to original test requirements if mapped in the code comments. The original ATLAS is then no longer needed.
RegenerATE supports conversion from several different ATLAS variants, including subsets of IEEE-416 and IEEE-716, with more variants currently being added.

Figure 1: Primary RegenerATE Interface

Customized to Fit Your Target Test Station

If your target test system software is already developed, CACI can modify RegenerATE for you to work with your specific system software and instrument drivers. CACI can also provide support to help you get your system and system software environment setup to support translated output from RegenerATE. Contact CACI’s Automated Test Systems group for more details on ATLAS variants.

RegenerATE Features

• Retains original ATLAS line numbers for traceability.
• ATLAS Procedures turned into TestStand sequences within the sequence file.
• Connection Pins, measurement ranges, limits, etc, all picked out of source code and placed in appropriate TestStand location.
• Output of RegenerATE can be imported directly into TestStand Sequence Editor for verification and debugging.

  Standardization of Outputs
  

Using RegenerATE provides the means of producing standard TestStand sequence file steps for each type of ATLAS statement. This results in standardized programming techniques across multiple test program files.

Unresolved Statements

When RegenerATE encounters ATLAS statements that are new or that it does not recognize, the statement is tagged as “Unresolved”, and placed in the sequence file as a label step type. The step can then be edited using the TestStand Sequence Editor. Typical conversion rates are well over 90%.

Break Dependence on Expensive Legacy Compilers

Once the conversion is complete, all maintenance can be performed in the TestStand Sequence Editor. The need for ATLAS compilers or the ATLAS run-time environment is gone. You won’t even need RegenerATE itself after the translation process is complete. The translation is a one-time effort with all subsequent execution and maintenance in the TestStand environment and the Sequence Editor.

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Figure 2: Sample of Translated Code

Stand-Alone Product

All that is required to operate RegenerATE is a licensed copy of TestStand 3.0/3.1, along with the LabVIEW runtime engine. RegenerATE is compatible with Windows NT/2000/XP.

See Also:
CACI's ATS Experience

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