Mentor Graphics' BridgePoint provides Agilent GC Instrumentation Division efficient methodology for embedded software development

SAE 2013 WORLD CONGRESS EXPOSITION, USA: Mentor Graphics Corp. and Agilent Technologies Inc. announced the use of the Mentor Graphics BridgePoint xtUML environment in the development of its Micro GC gas chromatography instruments.

The BridgePoint environment is an advanced UML-based environment for developing embedded systems, from concept to implementation, with key features that support ease of application porting, IP and design reuse, and a fast path to product variant development. Using the BridgePoint environment enabled Agilent to benefit from a reduced development cycle due to improved modeling and shorter porting times.

Traditional UML offers a solution for capturing and communicating complex system designs, while xtUML provides UML extensions that enable early debug through execution and enhanced development productivity through translation from UML to target implementation languages. The BridgePoint xtUML suite, which leverages the extensions of xtUML, enables the development of platform-independent executable models that can be verified and debugged without writing any target code.

The product also provides open, flexible model compilation, enabling the generation of optimized code for any target platform. The full set of capabilities provides for a modern, model-driven development (MDD) methodology, offering increased productivity, efficient reuse, and ease of hardware/software partitioning. Today, the Editor portion of the BridgePoint xtUML suite is available for free download and as an open source project.

“The BridgePoint xtUML tool suite enabled us to model our application separate from its implementation. This capability dramatically simplified the work required to port the Micro GC to a new platform,” said Robbert Van der Kruk, project manager, Agilent.
“In addition, the decision by Mentor Graphics to release the BridgePoint editor into the open source domain is very exciting. We are looking forward to community development that could broaden the usage of BridgePoint, and improve usability and productivity of the tool. The availability of the BridgePoint xtUML editor as an open source definitely lowers the barrier to entry for other groups within Agilent wanting to understand and experiment with the benefits provided by an xtUML methodology.”

The execution capabilities of xtUML offer an environment to validate requirements, explore new features, and verify/debug system behavior—without having to write any implementation code. The translation capabilities of xtUML offer a highly productive path to high-quality, optimized implementation code in either hardware or software.

“Using a model-driven design methodology enabled by state-of-the-art modeling languages and tools can dramatically improve design efficiencies, support reuse, and reduce late-stage risks—all of which are needed if designs continue towards higher and higher expectations of functionality,” said Serge Leef, VP and GM, System Level Engineering Division, Mentor Graphics. “We are pleased that Agilent has experienced success in the use of this type of technology.”