The
ActivATE™ Test Software Development Environment
Our Philosophy: Make it Powerful, Keep it Simple.
The
EADS North America Test & Services ActivATE™ ATE Test Platform v3.0
is both a runtime and development environment for automatic test equipment and factory floor
automation. ActivATE™ test software has been used in both commercial and military applications with tremendous success. Deployed world wide, this software has been used to test a wide range of units under test (UUT’s), from heat-seeking guidance sections to micro-processors. ActivATE™ test software
allows the test engineer to focus on software testing and not the test environment design.
The latest version of the ActivATE™ ATE Test Platform has been completely
redesigned using the Microsoft® .NET Framework v2.0 to take advantage of the newest
features and enhancements that are available in the latest Microsoft technology.
The ActivATE™ test software maintains backward compatibility with previous test
programs and drivers written for the ActivATE™ Express framework, making the upgrade
from ActivATE™ Express seamless.
Key Highlights in v3.0
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The new Configuration pane in the Outlook®-style toolbar provides a quick view of
all the drivers that are available within the ActivATE™ environment. Expand
a driver node to expose the APIs (the Application Programmable Interface, or the
public methods and properties in the driver class) that are available to use from
the test program. Right-click in the tree view to show options for adding
and deleting drivers.
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Named driver configurations may be saved so that they may be quickly loaded into
the ActivATE™ environment at a later time.
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Test node comparisons for PASS/FAIL determination now
include Boolean, Min/Max, Max Only, Min Only, and String Compare.
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Additional sequencer options are available: branch on group, group pass/fail, break
on each node.
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Test and group node descriptions may optionally be displayed in the test sequencer
tree view.
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Improved text editor supports very large files without reduced performance.
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A new Start Page offers support resources and provides the user with customizable
news content.
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An ActivATE™ Software
Development Kit (SDK) is included with the ActivATE™
software which gives Microsoft® Visual Studio 2005® users a framework to start development of new tools and
drivers. The SDK is also compatible with the Visual Studio
2005® C# Express version, which is available as a free download from
Microsoft.
Benefits
The ActivATE™ software is designed to follow the familiar look and feel of the standard
Microsoft applications, making the software intuitive and easy to use. Examples
of this are:
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To create a new test program, simply click "New Test Program" from the File menu.
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An Outlook®-style toolbar (like the one found in Microsoft® Outlook® 2003) provides
access to the driver GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) and quick driver configuration
options.
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Multiple open documents are tabbed within the main document window.
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All windows in the environment are dockable and can be moved anywhere within the
main form or they can be hidden. Arrows are provided as docking hints to help
the user select the destination for the window as the window is dragged across the
screen.
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Property Grid controls, as found in Microsoft® Visual Studio®, are used to provide
fast, easy access to multiple properties and settings at once.
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Code-behind the test nodes. Users organize and create test sequences graphically
but still has code-behind each test node and group.
The test programs are written using VBScript, a widely-used and well-known scripting
language. This eliminates the need to learn a proprietary programming language
and thus greatly reduces development time.
All of these key benefits result in a reduced learning curve and rapid application
development, allowing the customer to save time and money in personnel training
and project schedules.
Follow the links below to get a closer look at the test platform's key features.
Future Roadmap
We are continually adding exciting new features and improving the quality of our
software. New releases of the ActivATE™ software will be posted here as they
become available. Key planned features include: