Jenkins is the leading open-source automation server supported by a large and growing community of developers, testers, designers and other people interested in continuous integration, continuous delivery and modern software delivery practices. Built on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), it provides more than 1,800 plugins that extend Jenkins to automate with practically any technology software delivery teams use. In 2022, Jenkins reached 300,000 known installations making it the most widely deployed automation server.

LDRA interfaces with the Jenkins Continuous Integration Platform

The LDRA tool suite offers support for Jenkins, a continuous integration platform that automates and manages the build process for large-scale, system-level software projects. Jenkins connects the build and version control systems with quality management and automated testing. By linking the LDRA tool suite to Jenkins, the platform can invoke the LDRA tool suite to perform analysis, track test and verification fulfilment, and assess overall improvements or regressions in code quality over time.

System-level projects, common in aerospace and smart-grid development, typically bring together a global array of components and technology providers. Managing the rigors of safety-critical certification of such systems over multiyear development contracts is extremely challenging, particularly in light of tight budgets and time-to-market requirements. Automated continuous integration of platforms, such as Jenkins, Bamboo and GitLab, constantly monitor software stability and functionality, providing more accurate and granular measurement of project status through all stages of the development life cycle. Stakeholders from system, software and verification engineers to managers and executives can then use this software quality information to improve their technical and policy decision-making process.

By integrating the LDRA tool suite with the continuous integration system, static analysis and test cases are automatically performed. When new code is added or older code altered, developers immediately know if the changes impact the underlying functionality of the code. Developers can better track improvements or regressions in code quality and functionality over time and gain deeper insight into new defects through test case validation reports and other reporting features in the LDRA tool suite.

LDRA Brings Certification Management to Continuous Integration

LDRA’s integration to this platform ensures that the needs of systems that must meet stringent certification criteria can be met while enjoying the increased productivity and improved software quality of a continuous integration platform. The LDRA tool suite with its ability to verify standards conformance provides the static and dynamic analysis, requirements traceability, verification, testing and automated documentation necessary for systems to become certifiable to rigorous standards such as DO-178C Level A.

In addition to tracking the progress of static analysis activities and code quality, Jenkins reporting features pull key information from LDRA’s documentation process. Details of how many test cases have passed or failed are pulled into the dashboard that provides a concise summary of team activities. When test cases fail, developers can be informed via email or a web-based interface to ensure they can take immediate corrective action. To maximize on-going development efficiency, Jenkins continues to perform activities against a changing baseline so that test regression can be performed independently from normal developer activities.