Since childhood, we have been taught that we achieve perfection by repeating a task many times. Of course, in the field of sports or music, a fair amount of talent is also needed, but in other areas, repetition leads to perfection. However, we all know how time-consuming this process is. Today’s software development strives to develop software faster but still with high quality. To solve this conundrum, our customers need to automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks. For this reason, TargetLink offers a variety of features that help our users automate those tasks, enabling our customers to reach their goals quickly, efficiently, and with fewer errors. In this blog post, we will introduce you to one of these features that helps you move faster from AUTOSAR architecture to modeling behavior of AUTOSAR software components in TargetLink: the AUTOSAR frame model generation.
What is an AUTOSAR Frame Model?
Before we get started with the AUTOSAR frame model generation workflow, let us clarify what an AUTOSAR frame model is. The AUTOSAR frame model is a TargetLink model that contains all necessary blocks to represent the AUTOSAR structure and communication. Thus, inside this model, the developer can focus on modeling the appropriate control algorithm of the AUTOSAR software component. TargetLink can generate such an AUTOSAR frame model automatically from an AUTOSAR specification in the TargetLink Data Dictionary. For Classic AUTOSAR, many customers already use the frame model generation successfully in their model-based development toolchains. With TargetLink 2022-B patch 1, we extended this feature for Adaptive AUTOSAR frame models.
In a typical AUTOSAR workflow, everything starts with an AUTOSAR specification available from architecture modeling tools. This is called a top-down development approach and is also our recommended approach. Within those tools, you can model your AUTOSAR architecture and export it to an XML file (ARXML). The ARXML file can be imported to the TargetLink Data Dictionary (DD) to pass the AUTOSAR specification to TargetLink. After importing, the information is stored in appropriate DD objects and properties, and you can generate the AUTOSAR frame model from the TargetLink Data Dictionary. You can perform this workflow either interactively or non-interactively by using the API, because we all know that automation is king. During the frame model generation, TargetLink generates, for example, the necessary subsystems, ports, and Simulink data types. The resulting AUTOSAR frame model is out-of-the-box ready for initialization and generating production code.
For Classic AUTOSAR software components, all you have to do now is to model their functional behavior in TargetLink. For Adaptive AUTOSAR software components, due to the AUTOSAR Adaptive Platform, a few additional steps need to be performed before you can start modeling in TargetLink. For detailed guidance on these steps, our documentation has you covered.
Although we made the AUTOSAR frame model generation as convenient as possible, we know that in some situations, you will need to modify it to your specific needs. Therefore, a wide range of customization options are available at your fingertips, for example, adding Trigger blocks, using Data Store Memory blocks instead of port blocks in Classic AUTOSAR communication, or adding blocks to the AUTOSAR frame model by using hook scripts. We will discuss the customizing options in future posts and videos – stay tuned.
Always by Your Side
If you have read our previous blog posts, you know that we always ask you to discuss your wishes and needs with us. Some may think that it is an empty phrase, but it is important to us to give you the best solution for your success. One of the much-discussed features was the extension of the AUTOSAR frame model generation for Adaptive AUTOSAR projects. We are happy to distribute this feature with the TargetLink 2022-B p1 patch to our customers because we believe efficient workflows, like generating a frame model rather than creating one manually, are key to success. We are already curious about your future wishes and needs. Feel free to get in touch with us so that we can always be your partner by your side.
