Remarks: This Software Architecture Specification is part of the SafeQP Certification Kit↑, but applies to the whole QP/C Framework component family↑. This document is the best source of information about the master plan for the overall organization of QP/C Framework component, which also directly impacts the QP/C Applications derived from the framework. The detailed QP/C Framework component design is described in a separate document: QP Software Design Specification [DOC_QP_SDS].

Document Revisions

QP/C version	Document revision	Date (YYYY-MM-DD)	By	Description
7.3.4	A	2024-05-05	MMS	Initial release for IEC-61508 SIL-3 and IEC-62304 Class-C.
7.4.0	B	2024-07-30	MMS	Updated for QP 7.4.0.
8.0.0	C	2024-11-17	MMS	Updated for QP 8.0.0.
8.1.2	D	2025-12-09	MMS	Updated for QP 8.1.2.
8.1.3	D	2026-03-21	MMS	Updated for QP 8.1.3.
8.1.4	F	2026-05-16	MMS	Updated for QP 8.1.4.

Introduction

DOC_QP_SAS

Software Architecture Specification (SAS)

Description
This Software Architecture Specification (SAS), formally identified as DOC_QP_SAS, describes the software architecture of QP/C Framework component that satisfies the QP Software Requirements Specification (DOC_QP_SRS) and the QP Software Safety Requirements Specification (DOC_QP_SSRS).

Scope
This Software Architecture Specification addresses the following general concerns (understood here as topics of interest [ISO-42010:2022]):

the applied programming paradigms and software technologies;
the context, layering, and assignment of functionality to the QP/C Framework component and the external application that integrates it (application responsibilities are defined in the Safety Manual DOC_QP_SSM);
the interface between the QP/C Framework component and the QP/C Application based on the framework, as well as between the QP/C Framework component and the Operating System underlying the framework;
main policies concerning resource management and ownership.

Note: The explicit Safety Management concepts and safety-related documents, such as Software Safety Manual (SSM) and Software Safety Requirements Specification (SSRS), are only applied in the SafeQP/C and SafeQP/C++ editions.

Audience
This Software Architecture Specification is primarily intended for the following stakeholders:

Application Developers who develop QP/C Applications based on the QP/C Framework component,
Software Architects,
Quality-Assurance Engineers,
System Engineers,
Test Engineers, as well as
Managers who oversee the software development.

Backward Traceability

FSM_QP_SDLC_02: QP/C SDLC Step-2 shall review and update Software Architecture Specification (SAS).

Architectural Viewpoints

The QP/C Framework component architecture is presented according to the international standard [ISO-42010:2022] Architecture Description by means of the following architectural viewpoints (each consisting of various architectural views):

Document Conventions

Architecture Specification UIDs

For traceability, this Software Architecture Specification uses the Unique Identifiers (UIDs) with the following structure:

 +--------------- [1] Work artifact class (e.g., 'SAS' for Software Architecture Specification)
 |  +------------ [2] Project identifier ('QP' for @QPX Framework component)
 |  |   +-------- [3] Architecture view (e.g., 'OSAL' for OS Abstraction Layer)
 |  |   |
SAS_QP_view

Examples: SAS_QP_OSAL, SAS_QP_OOA

UML Semantics

Most diagrams presented in this Software Architecture Specification conform to the established and precisely defined semantics of the Unified Modeling Language [UML2.5:17]. In case a diagram uses any non-normative" elements, the semantics of those are explained in the diagram description.

Technology Viewpoint