Stefan Lohmaier
fb2c083551
Phase 2 of the English translation: Word documents (filled, EPB-specific): - 8 plans (PID, PM, QA, SWE, Test, Project Manual, CM, RM) - 6 safety docs (HARA, Safety Case, FMEDA, MISRA Compliance, Verification Report, Tool Qualification Cppcheck) - 2 manuals (User, Service) - 3 audit artefacts (Review minutes, NC-001, MISRA-REC-001) - All regenerated via pandoc from English markdown sources Code, tests, headers: - All file headers, struct comments, function docstrings in English - All test names (TEST_BEGIN strings) translated - Inline comments translated - 46 tests still green after translation CI workflows: - All step names in English - Step descriptions, comments, release notes template in English README.md fully rewritten in English with proper guided tour. Phase 3 (still pending): dev-process repo templates + toolstack/setup docs.
5.5 KiB
doc-id, version, status, date
| doc-id | version | status | date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLM-EPB-TQ-Cppcheck-001 | 1.0 | Released | 2026-05-12 |
Tool Qualification — Cppcheck + MISRA addon
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Tool | Cppcheck with MISRA addon |
| Version | 2.7+ (Linux apt) / 2.20.0 (Windows/macOS) |
| Vendor | Daniel Marjamäki et al. (open source) |
| Licence | GPLv3 |
| Use | Static analysis, MISRA C:2012 check |
| Standard | ISO 26262 Part 8 §11 |
1. Purpose
This report qualifies Cppcheck with the MISRA addon for use in demo-epb development. Tool qualification per ISO 26262-8 §11 is mandatory when:
- The tool can influence the safety level of the software (TI > 1)
- The tool lacks off-the-shelf certification
2. Tool classification
2.1 Use cases
| UC-ID | Use case | Output verified? |
|---|---|---|
| UC-01 | Static analysis during build | Via review (CI log) |
| UC-02 | MISRA C:2012 compliance evidence | Via deviation records |
| UC-03 | Bug identification | Findings are reviewed |
2.2 Tool Impact (TI)
Definition per ISO 26262-8 §11.4.5.1:
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Can a tool error lead to a violation of a safety requirement? | Yes (the tool may miss bugs) |
| Can a tool error prevent detection of a bug? | Yes |
⇒ TI = TI2 (the tool can influence safety)
2.3 Tool Error Detection (TD)
Definition per ISO 26262-8 §11.4.5.4:
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Is the tool output verified by other measures? | Partially: redundant via clang-tidy + code review + unit tests |
| Are bugs detected by downstream reviews / tests? | Yes |
⇒ TD = TD2 (medium detection probability)
2.4 Tool Confidence Level (TCL)
With TI2 + TD2 we obtain per ISO 26262-8 Table 4: TCL2.
2.5 Qualification method
For TCL2 + ASIL-D, a tool qualification is required (Table 5). Applicable methods:
- Increased confidence from use (§11.4.7) — available for Cppcheck
- Evaluation of the tool development process (§11.4.8)
- Validation of the software tool (§11.4.9)
In this project: Increased Confidence from Use.
3. Increased Confidence from Use — evidence
3.1 Maturity / adoption
| Criterion | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Tool age | > 15 years of development |
| Active community | > 100 contributors on GitHub |
| Releases per year | ~6 stable releases |
| Known automotive users | Documented users including several OEMs |
| Bug tracker | Public (GitHub Issues) |
| Test suite | Own self-test suite, > 5000 tests |
3.2 Prior use in project context
Cppcheck has been used since 2023 in slohmaier projects for static-analysis builds (anecdotally: ControlNav, BrailleKit). No known cases where Cppcheck missed a real safety violation that wasn't subsequently caught by code review.
3.3 Validation tests in project
Each build performs the following validation checks against Cppcheck:
| Test | Expected behaviour | Result |
|---|---|---|
Built-in test case tests/validation_cppcheck.c with intentionally injected bug |
Cppcheck detects it | OK |
| Cppcheck output is deterministic | Repeated runs == identical | OK |
| MISRA rules checked against reference set | Detection ≥ 95% required rules | OK |
4. Known limitations
| Limitation | Mitigation |
|---|---|
| MISRA addon does not implement all 175 rules completely | Manual review checklists for missing rules |
| Lower detection rate for heap bugs | No heap usage in this project (MISRA 21.3) |
| False positives on complex pointer aliasing | Per-instance deviation records |
5. Qualification verdict
Cppcheck with the MISRA addon is qualified for use in demo-epb at TCL2 ASIL-D, based on "Increased Confidence from Use".
This qualification applies to version 2.7+ on Linux (CI) and version 2.20.0 on macOS/Windows (developer workstations). On tool update the validation must be repeated (regression suite).
6. Scope
This tool qualification applies only to:
- Project: demo-epb
- ASIL: up to D
- Use: static analysis + MISRA check (CI + local)
- Tool versions: 2.7+ Linux / 2.20.0 macOS+Windows
7. Revision history
| Version | Date | Change | Author |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 2026-05-12 | First release | S. Lohmaier |