Method and system for controlling interchangeable components in a modular test system

1. A method for integrating test modules in a modular test system, comprising:

controlling at least one test module and its corresponding device under test (DUT) with a controller;

establishing a standard module control interface between a vendor-supplied test module and the modular test system with a module control framework, wherein the module control frame work comprises a resource class for representing a logical unit of a particular resource type of the vendor-supplied test module;

installing the vendor-supplied test module and a corresponding vendor-supplied control software module, wherein the vendor-supplied control software module is organized into a plurality of vendor-supplied module control components;

configuring the modular test system based on the module control framework and the plurality of vendor-supplied module control components; and

accessing the vendor-supplied test module in accordance with the plurality of vendor-supplied module control components using the module control framework.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the module control framework comprises:

a module class for representing a hardware module type of the vendor-supplied test module; and

a resource group class for representing a group of individual resource units having a unified interface among the individual resource units.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the module control framework further comprises:

a pattern list module class for supporting patterns and pattern lists;

a domain module class for retrieving vendor domain objects; and

a cyclized module class for retrieving cyclized resources.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the module control framework further comprises:

a cyclized resource class for supporting vendor-supplied test modules with timing attributes; and

a cyclized resource group class for representing a group of individual cyclized resource units.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the module control framework further comprises:

a system resource definition language for supporting custom configuration of vendor-supplied hardware resources; and

a system resource definition file for storing vendor-supplied special purpose resources.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the system resource definition language comprises:

a set of resource names for a corresponding set of resource types; and

a set of parameter names and types for the corresponding set of resource types.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of vendor-supplied module control components comprise:

a resource description component;

a driver component;

a diagnostic component;

a calibration component; and

an emulation component.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of vendor-supplied module control components further comprise:

a pattern compiler component; and

a module-specific component.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of vendor-supplied module control components are executable components in the format of dynamic link library.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of vendor-supplied module control components are provided in a component configuration record.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein configuring the modular test system comprises:

initializing a system controller;

establishing connections between the system controller and the at least one site controller;

loading a system module configuration file to the system controller;

discovering hardware devices connected to the modular test system;

storing discovered hardware information in a hardware inventory file on the system controller;

validating the system module configuration file against the hardware inventory file;

validating the vendor-supplied control software module;

populating the at least one site controller with the system module configuration file; and

partitioning the modular test system.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein validating the vendor-supplied control software module comprises:

locating a module dynamic link library specified in the system module configuration file;

loading the module dynamic link library; and

verifying resources declared in the system module configuration file can be created by the corresponding vendor-supplied control software module.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein partitioning the modular test system comprises:

reading a socket file, wherein the socket file comprises user-specified system partition information;

configuring a system module connection enabler in accordance with the socket file;

loading a corresponding module dynamic link library at each site controller;

creating a standard module control interface in accordance with the corresponding module dynamic link library; and

initializing the standard module control interface at each site controller.

14. A modular test system, comprising:

a controller for controlling at least one test module and its corresponding device under test (DUT);

a module control framework for establishing a standard module control interface between a vendor-supplied test module and the modular test system, wherein the module control frame work comprises a resource class for representing a logical unit of a particular resource type of the vendor-supplied test module;

means for installing the vendor supplied test module and a corresponding vendor-supplied control software module, wherein the vendor-supplied control software module is organized into a plurality of vendor-supplied module control components;

means for configuring the modular test system based on the module control framework and the plurality of vendor-supplied module control components; and

means for accessing the vendor-supplied test module in accordance with the plurality of vendor-supplied module control components using the module control framework.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the module control framework comprises:

a module class for representing a hardware module type of the vendor-supplied test module; and

a resource group class for representing a group of individual resource units having a unified interface among the individual resource units.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the module control framework further comprises:

a pattern list module class for supporting patterns and pattern lists;

a domain module class for retrieving vendor domain objects; and

a cyclized module class for retrieving cyclized resources.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the module control framework further comprises:

a cyclized resource class for supporting vendor-supplied test modules with timing attributes; and

a cyclized resource group class for representing a group of individual cyclized resource units.

18. The system of claim 14 , wherein the module control framework further comprises:

a system resource definition language for supporting custom configuration of vendor-supplied hardware resources; and

a system resource definition file for storing vendor-supplied special purpose resources.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the system resource definition language comprises:

a set of resource names for a corresponding set of resource types; and

a set of parameter names and types for the corresponding set of resource types.

20. The system of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of vendor-supplied module control components comprise:

a resource description component;

a driver component;

a diagnostic component;

a calibration component; and

an emulation component.

21. The system of claim 20 , wherein the plurality of vendor-supplied module control components further comprise:

a pattern compiler component; and

a module-specific component.

22. The system of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of vendor-supplied module control components are executable components in the format of dynamic link library.

23. The system of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of vendor-supplied module control components are provided in a component configuration record.

24. The system of claim 14 , wherein the means for configuring the modular test system comprise:

means for initializing a system controller;

means for establishing connections between the system controller and the at least one site controller;

means for loading a system module configuration file to the system controller;

means for discovering hardware devices connected to the modular test system;

means for storing discovered hardware information in a hardware inventory file on the system controller;

means for validating the system module configuration file against the hardware inventory file;

means for validating the vendor-supplied control software module;

means for populating the at least one site controller with the system module configuration file; and

means for partitioning the modular test system.

25. The system of claim 24 , wherein the means for validating the vendor-supplied control software module comprise:

means for locating a module dynamic link library specified in the system module configuration file;

means for loading the module dynamic link library; and

means for verifying resources declared in the system module configuration file can be created by the corresponding vendor-supplied control software module.

26. The system of claim 24 , wherein the means for partitioning the modular test system comprise:

means for reading a socket file, wherein the socket file comprises user-specified system partition information;

means for configuring a system module connection enabler in accordance with the socket file;

means for loading a corresponding module dynamic link library at each site controller;

means for creating a standard module control interface in accordance with the corresponding module dynamic link library; and

means for initializing the standard module control interface at each site controller.