High integrity software

High-integrity software is software whose failure may cause serious damage with possible "life-threatening consequences."^[1] "Integrity is important as it demonstrates the safety, security, and maintainability of... code."^[1] Examples of high-integrity software are nuclear reactor control, avionics software, automotive safety-critical software and process control software.^[2][3]

[H]igh integrity means that the code:

• Does what it should.
• Can be tested.
• Has security features.
• Lacks security vulnerabilities.
• Is easy to understand and follow logically.
• Is easy to edit and upgrade without introducing new errors.^[1]

A number of standards are applicable to high-integrity software, including:

• DO-178C, Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification^[4]
• CENELEC EN 50128, Railway applications - Communication, signalling and processing systems - Software for railway control and protection systems^[5]
• IEC 61508, Functional Safety of Electrical/Electronic/Programmable Electronic Safety-related Systems (E/E/PE, or E/E/PES)
• ISO 26262, Road Vehicles - Functional Safety (especially 'part 6' of the standard, which is titled "Product development at the software level"^[6]

See also

• Safety-critical system
• High availability software
• Formal methods
• Software of unknown pedigree

References

1. "What Is Software Integrity? Overview + Software Integrity Best Practices". perforce.com. Retrieved Feb 15, 2022.
2. Sennett, C.T. (2012). High-Integrity Software. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-4684-5777-3. Retrieved Feb 14, 2022.
3. Chapman, Rod (September 4, 2024). "Correctness by Construction: The Case for Constructive Static Verification" (PDF). National Institute of Standards and Technology. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 30, 2006. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
4. "Developing DO-178B/C Compliant Software for Airborne Systems" (PDF). Parasoft. Retrieved Feb 14, 2022.
5. European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC). "CENELEC - EN 50128". Engineering360. Retrieved Feb 14, 2022.
6. Qi Van Eikema, Hommes (January 25, 2012). "ASSESSMENT OF THE ISO 26262 STANDARD, "ROAD VEHICLES – FUNCTIONAL SAFETY"" (PDF). U.S. Department of Transportation Volpe Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved September 4, 2024.

External links

• Boulanger, Jean-Louis (13 April 2015). CENELEC 50128 and IEC 62279 Standards. John R. Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-1-84821-634-1.
• Winter, Victor L.; Bhattacharya, Sourav, eds. (2001). High Integrity Software. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. ISBN 978-1-4613-5530-4. Retrieved Feb 14, 2022.
• Wallace, Dolores R.; Ippolito, Laura M.; Kuhn, D. Richard (1992). High Integrity Software Standards and Guidelines (PDF). National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved Feb 15, 2022.