Udviklingstid for 3G og 4G systemer kan nedbringes med ny software

Plextek står bag et udviklingsværktøj, der kan hjælpe softwareingeniører med at analysere indholdet af LTE og W-CDMA protokol-beskeder (in english).

Plextek, a leading Cambridge-based designhouse, has announced that it has generated an internal development tool that will help software engineers analyse the contents of LTE and W-CDMA protocol messages. Traditionally these have been incredibly difficult to read and understand and the development of this software tool from Plextek will greatly speed up development time on 3G and 4G networks. A trial version is available as a free download from Plexteks website www.plextek.co.uk/downloads.htm

With networks across the world starting to make the move towards LTE, developing the right software tools alongside this is key. 3GPP, the body that defines the W-CDMA and LTE standards, use a complex notation known as ASN.1 to define protocol message types and content. This helps to avoid ambiguity in setting standards but requires careful translation into software code. In order to assist this translation process, Plextek has developed this customisable ASN.1 viewer and compiler.

- The move from 3 to 4G is now just a question of when rather than if, and a key part of its success will be in ensuring the right software is there to support it, says David Kyle, a Consultant at Plextek. By making the protocol messages easier to analyse this will aid the move to LTE and make it easier for engineers across the whole ecosystem to implement. Interestingly the codes are actually far more straightforward in LTE so what this tool offers is the ability to code and develop easily at both levels.