DO-178C, Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification, is the primary functional safety standard used to certify airborne software in commercial aircraft, engines, and avionics. It is referenced by aviation authorities including FAA, EASA, and Transport Canada, and mandates rigorous assurance activities according to software levels A–E, based on the severity of failure conditions.
The ECLAIR Software Verification Platform provides broad and deep support for achieving compliance with DO-178C. It covers critical verification objectives from DO-178C Table A.5, supports architectural independence and partitioning (Section 2.4), facilitates compiler qualification, and includes tool qualification kits compliant with DO-330.
ECLAIR helps development and quality assurance teams meet DO-178C objectives for software levels A–D, especially those listed in Table A.5 for the Verification of Outputs of Software Coding and Integration Processes. It supports:
Verification of compliance with low-level requirements and architecture
Traceability between code and requirements
Conformance to coding standards
Verifiability and consistency of source code
Verification of integration process outputs
ECLAIR services (such as B.INDEPENDENCE, MISRA compliance enforcement, and requirements traceability tools) automate and strengthen verification activities, streamlining reviews and increasing confidence.
ECLAIR offers full support for the industry’s most recognized coding standards:
MISRA C:2025 — The leading safety subset for C, compatible with C90–C18, fully supported by ECLAIR MC
MISRA C++:2023 — The modern safety-oriented subset for C++17, supported alongside MISRA C++:2008 in ECLAIR MP
BARR-C:2018 — A well-structured style and safety subset, useful in pre-MISRA projects or to complement style requirements
These coding standards significantly improve verifiability and traceability and help avoid undefined behavior, which is essential under DO-178C.
ECLAIR includes both HIS metrics and a broad range of additional quality metrics to assess:
Code complexity and maintainability
Component coupling and size
Style consistency and readability
These metrics are valuable not only for verification but also for project management and traceability.
DO-178C requires demonstrable independence between software components, especially when components have different software levels. It defines partitioning as a means of fault containment and reduced verification burden.
ECLAIR’s Independence Checker enforces formal software architecture constraints and prevents unsafe interface bypassing. This is key for proving compliance with Section 2.4 and for enabling safety monitoring mechanisms (Section 2.4.3).
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DO-178C requires qualification of tools that automate or replace mandated activities, under RTCA DO-330. ECLAIR is suitable for qualification at Tool Qualification Level TQL-4 and TQL-5, depending on software level and tool use.
ECLAIR’s Qualification Kits for DO-178C/DO-330 provide:
Documentation and configuration templates
Extensive test suites
Scripts for environment setup and validation
This helps safety teams independently generate confidence-building evidence for tool qualification.
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ECLAIR also assists in compiler qualification by validation, in collaboration with Solid Sands:
Detects and helps mitigate compiler issues via static analysis
Prevents unsupported compiler options or combinations
Automates SuperTest integration with CerTran, which scans build processes to configure compiler testing precisely and efficiently
These capabilities make ECLAIR a valuable part of the compiler qualification workflow in airborne systems development.
ECLAIR is designed from the ground up to support mission- and safety-critical workflows:
Validated with extensive proprietary and industry-standard test suites
Integrates with modern CI/CD workflows
Eliminates misconfigurations that could compromise verification
ECLAIR has been adopted in aerospace and other safety-critical industries where software correctness and certification readiness are paramount.
If you are developing aerospace software and need to comply with DO-178C and qualify your tools according to DO-330, ECLAIR helps you meet these standards with confidence, precision, and efficiency.
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