LIN bus testing software

In our days the microcontrollers are widely used in many domains. For example a modern automobile includes tens of microcontrollers. The communication between them is done via serial buses, one variant being the LIN (Local Interconnect Network) bus. In order to build, debug and test LIN based multi-microcontroller systems, tools are necessary. The paper presents a dedicated tool through which a PC can test and debug a LIN bus. Starting from a given hardware, a LIN bus testing software was conceived and implemented. The LIN tester has two working modes: passive and active. In the passive mode the tester doesn't interfere in LIN communication. It gets and interprets the LIN frames and sends them to the PC via a CAN interface. In the active mode the tester interferes in LIN communication. It sends LIN headers, LIN responses and generates LIN typical errors. The LIN tester has common capabilities with other similar tools and also advantages, such as injecting LIN typical errors.