Method for executing programs in an electronic system for applications with functional safety comprising a plurality of processors, corresponding system and computer program product

Abstract

A method for executing programs (P) in an electronic system for applications with functional safety that comprises a single-processor or multiprocessor processing system () and a further independent control module (), including: carrying out a decomposition of a program (P) that includes a safety function (SF) to be executed via said system () into a plurality of parallel subprograms (P, . . . , Pn); assigning execution of each parallel subprogram (P, . . . , Pn) to a respective processing module () of the system, in particular a processor (C, . . . , Cm) of said multiprocessor architecture () or a virtual machine (V, . . . , Vn) associated to one of said processors (C, . . . , Cm); carrying out in the system (), periodically according to a cycle frequency (f) of the program (P) during normal operation of said system (), in the context of said safety function (SF), self-test operations (A, A, A) associated to each of said subprograms (P, . . . , Pn) and to the corresponding processing modules () on which they are executed, said self-test operations (A, A, A) including: diagnostic-self-test operations (A), which carry out diagnostic self-tests; operations (A) of self-testing of system values measured on the architecture (); applicational self-test operations (A), which include operations of checking execution of conditions of use (A) and/or execution of LBISTs (Logic Built-in Self-Tests) (A), and including: generating respective self-test data (D, D, D) corresponding to the self-test operations (A, A, A) and carrying out checking operations () on said self-test data (D, D, D); exchanging said self-test data (D, D, D) continuously via a protocol (PL) of messages (MC) with the further independent control module (); carrying out at least part of said checking operations () in said further control module (); and executing said operation of decomposition of the program (P) into a plurality of parallel subprograms (P, . . . , Pn) to achieve a coverage target (A, A, A) for each of said self-test operations (A, A, A) associated to a respective subprogram (P, . . . , Pn) or processing module () in such a way that it respects a given failure-probability target (g12).