We have to develop the software for many different hardware devices with different specifications and functions, yet we try wherever possible to develop a universal code base that can then be altered when necessary.
With a team of around 200 in-house software developers based in Berlin, AVM develops the software that powers their own range of DSL routers. As the market-leading manufacturer of DSL devices in Germany, their software development cycle has to be continual to meet the increasing demand for a high-quality, reliable, and secure online experience.
As AVM’s Head of Core Development, Hans-Juergen Ortmann explains, the challenge his development team faces is writing software that can be adapted to support the various functions of their product ranges.
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Klocwork Helps AVM...
- Reduce Development Times
- Educate Developers
- Ensure Consistent Code Quality
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Why AVM Needed a Static Code Analyzer
The requirements of the hardware that AVM develops are such that the build environment is very complex and, with new products being developed all the time, the software has to be adapted constantly.
As Mr. Ortmann explains: “With each of our products having different features, we essentially assemble a specialized, complete Linux distribution for each device. The firmware AVM develops for each project is a bootable Linux distribution with a bootloader, kernal, drivers and applications, and this is problematic in itself.”
With multiple dependencies and variations, a software testing tool capable of shortening AVM’s development time was essential. But with such complicated software to develop in such a difficult environment, AVM required an advanced static analysis tool capable of thorough and diverse code testing which could be fully integrated into their setup.
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How AVM Has Benefited From Klocwork
As Mr. Ortmann says: “We were impressed with what Klocwork offered and felt that the tool could help us reduce the time it takes to develop our software, which is what we were looking for.”
Despite the complexity of the build environment at AVM, Klocwork integrated seamlessly into their setup. “We have a lot of experience at customizing programs to fit into our build environment and therefore chose to integrate Klocwork without external help. Altering our system can be labor intensive and difficult, but integrating Klocwork went without any significant problems,” explains Mr. Ortmann.
“Klocwork Insight not only provides useful metrics for managing developers, it also makes it easier for developers to analyze their own code and, if necessary, make improvements before it is checked in.” — Hans-Juergen Ortmann, Head of Core Development
Beyond the success of integrating Klocwork, AVM have also been pleased with the functionality of the tool.
“We have made full use of Klocwork and it has shown some interesting results,” said Mr. Ortmann. “We have found a number of bugs, both from homegrown software and Open Source applications. Even results that might be considered false positives have been useful in highlighting code that could be neater, and constantly improving code quality is something we encourage”.
As well as continuing to improve code quality and cut development time, Mr. Ortmann anticipates that the desktop function of Klocwork Insight will change the way they develop software at AVM.
“Klocwork Insight not only provides useful metrics for managing developers, it also makes it easier for developers to analyze their own code. And, if necessary, make improvements before it is checked in. This allows developers to continually improve their code and will hopefully encourage a culture where bugs are openly discussed. As a company committed to positive change and quality improvement, this is very good for us.” — Hans-Juergen Ortmann
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Easily Produce High-quality Code
Klocwork helps companies like AVM to produce high-quality code. See for yourself how Klocwork can help you achieve the same goal.