Using a plug-in model to simplify and enhance ATE test software capabilities

An ATE software or test executive must perform a variety of tasks in addition to simply sequencing and running functional tests on the device under test (DUT). These tasks include prompting the test operator for a serial number and displaying test results, logging the results of the tests to a report, test system calibration and self-tests, and more. In most test executive software applications, the code responsible for these additional tasks is tightly integrated with the process code that is responsible for executing the actual tests. Because of this integration, it is difficult to modify one set of code without affecting the other. This paper discusses how to decouple the process code from the task code by implementing a plug-in-based architecture for the test software. A plug-in-based architecture offers several benefits. Plug-ins can be used to improve or modify existing behavior, such as results processing, or to add entirely new functionality, such as the ability to interface with web services or implement a power-on self-test sequence in a very modular fashion. These and other benefits will also be discussed in the paper. These topics will be discussed in the general context of automated test software. Finally, this paper will demonstrate an implementation of this plug-in based architecture using a COTS test executive.