PowerPC Embedded ABI Test Suite

Tool developers - do your tools meet the PowerPC specifications?

End users - will your vendors' tools work together?

PEATS provides the answers.

Overview

The PowerPC Embedded ABI Test Suite (PEATS) verifies the ability of development tools to produce and consume files compliant to the PowerPC Embedded Application Binary Interface (EABI), Version 1.0:

Verifies C compilers produce correct objects
Verifies linkers produce correct executables
Verifies archivers produce correct archive files
Verifies linkers and archivers understand correct input files

Testing with PEATS facilitates product reliability as well as validating interoperability between tools, debuggers, and libraries from multiple vendors. It is thus a valuable utility both for development tool vendors and users evaluating acquiring these tools.

PEATS performs a large series of tests covering EABI requirements for:

ELF
DWARF
data layout
calling conventions
archive file format

Testing primarily entails compilation of custom C test programs, analysis of the resultant object, linking with objects from a trusted toolset, and analysis of the resultant executable. Supplemental tests are employed which execute generated code in a PowerPC environment.

The general categories of checks made by PEATS include:

Object file syntactic checks
Source-to-object semantic checks
Object-to-object linker consistency checks
Incremental linking
Cross linking (mixing optimized and non-optimized modules, etc.)
Archive syntax checks
Object-to-archive consistency checks
Archive usability checks
Tool set interoperability (mixing with trusted objects)
Run-time checks of caller-callee linkage, relocation, data representation, data layout, and section combining and locating.

A unique feature of PEATS is its validation of ELF/DWARF semantics. PEATS employs a translator which reads an arbitrary C program and generates expectations about the ELF/DWARF information that should be produced when it is compiled. PEATS then compares this information to the ELF/DWARF actually produced by the compiler under test for the source program. PEATS reports any errors noticed as well as flagging inconsistent DWARF usage and deviations from recommended practice.

Test operation is managed by the DejaGnu test harness, a Tcl-based framework originally developed for testing GNU tools. DejaGnu offers PEATS users:

compliance with POSIX standard 1003.3
a uniform command-line interface to the testing process
flexibility and extensibility for development of additional tests
portability across native and cross-development platforms

Features

Tests ELF and DWARF syntax and semantics
Tests data layout, calling conventions, and archive file format
Includes static and run-time tests
Completely automated
Full user and programmer documentation
Highly configurable - works with any tool set
Highly extensible - users can easily add their own test extensions
Operates under the DejaGnu test harness
Extensive support and maintenance program

System Requirements

Runs on AIX4 and Windows-95

Availability

PEATS shipments began June 1997.

Pricing

An Single Site End User license for PEATS is $5,000.00. This provides a 10 year license for a use at a single geographic site. An Corporate End User license for PEATS is $10,000.00. This provides a 10 year license for use at an unlimited number of sites.
Support and maintenance for PEATS is $1,000.00 per year for single site licensees and $2,000.00 for corporate licensees. This allows problem reporting and access to maintenance updates.

Ordering

To order your copy of PEATS, complete the End User License and the End User Support Agreement and provide 2 copies of each to ApTest, along with a check or PO for the license fee and first year's support fee. ApTest will countersign and return to you a copy of each of the two documents, and provide you with ftp access to PEATS.

Download the End User License

Download the End User Support Agreement