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ARXML Export

What You Will Do​

You export the validated design as AUTOSAR ARXML documents.

  • Click Export, the icon on the DESIGN header of the EDITOR view. PAIO does not ask for a location; it writes straight into the project's export folder.
  • Check the five ARXML files that are created, and match the PNC (Partial Network Cluster) design from the previous chapters against the file and the element that records it.
  • Read the <PNC-MAPPING> block directly in PNC_System.arxml, and confirm that the XML editor's schema check reports zero errors.

When you finish this chapter, the export folder holds five ARXML files. Four of them report zero errors in the AUTOSAR R25-11 schema check. PNC_COM.arxml reports errors that come from the export itself (22 in the finished example); Checking the Schema Check Results explains them.

Before You Begin​

  • Finish The System Editor and Validation so that the VALIDATION panel reads "No validation issues."
  • No edit may be left unsaved. If a tab name shows the ● marker, press Ctrl+S to save.
  • The export requires an active license and a server connection. For the full capabilities of export and import, see Import and Export in the PAIO manual.

Exporting the Project to ARXML​

  1. In the EDITOR view on the left, point the mouse at the second of the four icons on the right of the DESIGN header. The tooltip Export appears. The four icons carry no label other than their tooltips, which read, from the left, Import, Export, PRTE Code Generation, and PARA Code Generation.

    The Export icon of the DESIGN header in the EDITOR view, with its tooltip

    Figure 12-1. The Export icon of the DESIGN header. ① The view header EDITOR: PNC. ② The icon to click, Export, under the mouse, with its tooltip Export. DESIGN and MODULE are open, and DOC, CODE, and EXPORT are closed. No tab is open, so the editor area on the right shows Open a file to start editing.

    Close-up of the DESIGN header

    Figure 12-2. A close-up of the same header. ① The view header EDITOR: PNC. ② Export and its tooltip. The icon to its left is Import, and the two icons to its right are PRTE Code Generation and PARA Code Generation.

Note. Export is also in the menu that opens when you right-click the design folder in the Explorer (the Explorer icon at the bottom of the icon bar on the far left). Both run the same export.

  1. Click Export. No file picker asks where to save. The result is always created in the project's export folder.

  2. The Exporting to AUTOSAR progress dialog appears in the middle of the screen. The export finishes in about a second.

    The completed Exporting to AUTOSAR progress dialog

    Figure 12-3. The completed Exporting to AUTOSAR dialog. The message reads Export complete: 298 elements exported to PNC_*.arxml, followed by ✓ Complete!, 100%, 3 / 3 elements 1s elapsed, and the Close button.

    The whole window at the moment the export finishes

    Figure 12-4. The whole window at the moment the export finishes. The progress dialog appears in the middle of the screen and dims everything behind it. No dialog asked for a save location, and the EDITOR view on the left looks exactly as it did before the click.

  3. The dialog closes by itself after about two seconds. You can also click Close to dismiss it at once. There is no time to read the dialog slowly, so check the result in the export folder as described in the next section.

Note. The 298 elements in the message and the 3 / 3 elements in the statistics count different things. The first is the number of exported elements, the second the number of export stages. The two numbers differing is normal. The element count depends on the size of your model, so a number other than 298 is fine.

Caution. If the export fails, Export failed: <reason> appears and the dialog stays open. OFFLINE_EXPORT_DENIED means a server connection is required, and PLAN_EXPIRED is a license problem. For the detailed reasons, see Import and Export.

Checking the Generated Files​

  1. In the EDITOR view on the left, click the EXPORT header to expand it. EXPORT lists the files of the project's export folder. The list refreshes itself when the export finishes, so the five ARXML files are visible right away. File names follow the <project name>_*.arxml rule, so in this tutorial they all start with PNC_.

    The five ARXML files in the EXPORT section of the EDITOR view

    Figure 12-5. The expanded EXPORT section of the EDITOR view. ① EXPORT and the generated ARXML files — in name order, the five files PNC_COM.arxml, PNC_DataType.arxml, PNC_Interface.arxml, PNC_SWC.arxml, and PNC_System.arxml. ② Among them, PNC_System.arxml, which you open in the next section.

  2. Each file carries the following PNC-related content.

    FilePNC-related content
    PNC_System.arxmlSYSTEM and SYSTEM-MAPPING. Three <PNC-MAPPING> elements (one per PNC), the SYSTEM-level <PNC-VECTOR-LENGTH> / <PNC-VECTOR-OFFSET>, and the SWC-to-ECU mapping
    PNC_COM.arxmlECU-INSTANCE and MACHINE-DESIGN. The connectors' <PNC-GATEWAY-TYPE>, <PNC-FILTER-ARRAY-MASK>, and <PNC-WAKEUP-CAN-ID> family, the clusters and VLANs, the PNC references on the switch ports, 20 <I-SIGNAL-I-PDU-GROUP> elements, the NM settings, and the SOME/IP service instance declarations
    PNC_SWC.arxmlThe SWC types and the <PORT-GROUP> elements that represent the VFCs, the machine's three <NM-NETWORK-HANDLE> elements and the FunctionGroup state mapping, the three <NETWORK-HANDLE-PORT-MAPPING> elements of the application AA, and the PARA platform AAs and processes
    PNC_Interface.arxmlThe port interfaces and service interfaces, including the one <NETWORK-MANAGEMENT-PORT-INTERFACE> used for the PNC request
    PNC_DataType.arxmlThe data types used by the interfaces. No PNC-specific element goes in here

  3. The table below shows which file actually holds how many of each PNC-related element. A 0 means the element does not appear in that file.

    ElementCOMDataTypeInterfaceSWCSystem
    PNC-MAPPING00003
    PNC-IDENTIFIER00003
    PNC-VECTOR-LENGTH00001
    PNC-VECTOR-OFFSET00001
    PNC-GATEWAY-TYPE180000
    PNC-FILTER-ARRAY-MASK1080000
    PNC-WAKEUP-CAN-ID30000
    I-SIGNAL-I-PDU-GROUP200000
    PROVIDED-SOMEIP-SERVICE-INSTANCE40000
    REQUIRED-SOMEIP-SERVICE-INSTANCE30000
    PORT-GROUP000330
    NM-NETWORK-HANDLE00030
    NETWORK-HANDLE-PORT-MAPPING00030

Note. <PNC-VECTOR-LENGTH> and <PNC-VECTOR-OFFSET> appear once on the SYSTEM, not once per PNC. In this example their values are 6 and 2.

Note. The 33 <PORT-GROUP> elements do not mean there are 33 VFCs. There are three VFCs — VFC_Comfort, VFC_ParkAssist, and VFC_Trailer — and these three repeat once for the root composition PncVehicle and once for every composition and SWC type beneath it, which adds up to 33. All 33 carry <CATEGORY>PARTIAL_NETWORKING</CATEGORY>, and the ones that <PNC-MAPPING> points to are the three directly under PncVehicle.

Note. The table counts opening tags, that is, element declarations. References to those elements from other files (<...-REF DEST="...">) are not counted. That is why the SOME/IP service instances are counted only in PNC_COM.arxml, where they are declared: in PNC_System.arxml they appear only as references such as <SERVICE-INSTANCE-REF DEST="PROVIDED-SOMEIP-SERVICE-INSTANCE">, so the System column reads 0.

Note. The counts above come from exporting the finished example. In a project you built by following along, some counts such as I-SIGNAL-I-PDU-GROUP come out differently. For which items differ and why, see Appendix — Differences Between Your Project and the Finished Example.

Note. The three <NM-NETWORK-HANDLE> elements are the ones you created in The AP Machine — NM Handles and FunctionGroup. They are declared inside the machine's <NM-INSTANTIATION>, and that machine is recorded in PNC_SWC.arxml. The three <NETWORK-HANDLE-PORT-MAPPING> elements in the same file point to these handles through <NETWORK-HANDLE-REF DEST="NM-NETWORK-HANDLE">.

Reading PNC-MAPPING in PNC_System.arxml​

  1. Under EXPORT, double-click PNC_System.arxml. The PNC:PNC_System.arxml tab opens in the XML editor's view mode.

  2. Press Ctrl+F and type <PNC-MAPPING> in the find box. 1 of 3 appears and the editor jumps to the first mapping. In the example this is PNC_Comfort on line 617.

    PNC_System.arxml opened in the editor

    Figure 12-6. The whole window with PNC_System.arxml open. ① The tab PNC:PNC_System.arxml. ② The find box. Typing <PNC-MAPPING> shows 1 of 3. ③ The PROBLEMS panel at the bottom. It is collapsed and carries no count badge. The status bar below it reads Ln 617, Col 28 · UTF-8 · 13 selected · Schema: R25-11 · ✓ No problems. 13 selected means the 13 characters of the found <PNC-MAPPING> are selected.

    The first PNC-MAPPING block

    Figure 12-7. A close-up of the first <PNC-MAPPING> block. It shows the <SHORT-NAME> PNC_Comfort, three physical channel references, PNC-CONSUMED-PROVIDED-SERVICE-INSTANCE-GROUPS, and the PNC-GROUP-REFS that follow.

  3. The complete block looks like this. Everything you built in the previous chapters comes together in one place.

    <PNC-MAPPING>
      <IDENT>
        <SHORT-NAME>PNC_Comfort</SHORT-NAME>
      </IDENT>
      <PHYSICAL-CHANNEL-REFS>
        <PHYSICAL-CHANNEL-REF DEST="ETHERNET-PHYSICAL-CHANNEL">/System/CommunicationCluster/Ethernet/Backbone/VLAN_Body</PHYSICAL-CHANNEL-REF>
        <PHYSICAL-CHANNEL-REF DEST="CAN-PHYSICAL-CHANNEL">/System/CommunicationCluster/Can/WestCAN/WestCAN_Channel</PHYSICAL-CHANNEL-REF>
        <PHYSICAL-CHANNEL-REF DEST="CAN-PHYSICAL-CHANNEL">/System/CommunicationCluster/Can/EastCAN/EastCAN_Channel</PHYSICAL-CHANNEL-REF>
      </PHYSICAL-CHANNEL-REFS>
      <PNC-CONSUMED-PROVIDED-SERVICE-INSTANCE-GROUPS>
        <CONSUMED-PROVIDED-SERVICE-INSTANCE-GROUP-REF-CONDITIONAL>
          <CONSUMED-PROVIDED-SERVICE-INSTANCE-GROUP-REF DEST="CONSUMED-PROVIDED-SERVICE-INSTANCE-GROUP">/System/Service/CpServiceGroup/PNC_Comfort_ServiceGroup</CONSUMED-PROVIDED-SERVICE-INSTANCE-GROUP-REF>
        </CONSUMED-PROVIDED-SERVICE-INSTANCE-GROUP-REF-CONDITIONAL>
      </PNC-CONSUMED-PROVIDED-SERVICE-INSTANCE-GROUPS>
      <PNC-GROUP-REFS>
        <PNC-GROUP-REF DEST="I-SIGNAL-I-PDU-GROUP">/System/Pdu/ISignalIPduGroup/WestCAN_PNC_Comfort_Rx</PNC-GROUP-REF>
        <PNC-GROUP-REF DEST="I-SIGNAL-I-PDU-GROUP">/System/Pdu/ISignalIPduGroup/WestCAN_PNC_Comfort_Tx</PNC-GROUP-REF>
        <PNC-GROUP-REF DEST="I-SIGNAL-I-PDU-GROUP">/System/Pdu/ISignalIPduGroup/EastCAN_PNC_Comfort_Rx</PNC-GROUP-REF>
        <PNC-GROUP-REF DEST="I-SIGNAL-I-PDU-GROUP">/System/Pdu/ISignalIPduGroup/EastCAN_PNC_Comfort_Tx</PNC-GROUP-REF>
      </PNC-GROUP-REFS>
      <PNC-IDENTIFIER>17</PNC-IDENTIFIER>
      <SERVICE-INSTANCE-REFS>
        <SERVICE-INSTANCE-REF DEST="PROVIDED-SOMEIP-SERVICE-INSTANCE">/System/Service/Instance/SOMEIP/Provider/ComfortControl_Provider_West</SERVICE-INSTANCE-REF>
        <SERVICE-INSTANCE-REF DEST="PROVIDED-SOMEIP-SERVICE-INSTANCE">/System/Service/Instance/SOMEIP/Provider/ComfortControl_Provider_East</SERVICE-INSTANCE-REF>
        <SERVICE-INSTANCE-REF DEST="REQUIRED-SOMEIP-SERVICE-INSTANCE">/System/Service/Instance/SOMEIP/Consumer/ComfortControl_Consumer</SERVICE-INSTANCE-REF>
      </SERVICE-INSTANCE-REFS>
      <SHORT-LABEL>PNC_Comfort</SHORT-LABEL>
      <VFC-IREFS>
        <VFC-IREF>
          <CONTEXT-COMPOSITION-REF DEST="ROOT-SW-COMPOSITION-PROTOTYPE">/System/PncVehicle/PncVehicle</CONTEXT-COMPOSITION-REF>
          <TARGET-REF DEST="PORT-GROUP">/SwComponentType/Composition/PncVehicle/VFC_Comfort</TARGET-REF>
        </VFC-IREF>
      </VFC-IREFS>
      <WAKEUP-FRAME-REFS>
        <WAKEUP-FRAME-REF DEST="CAN-FRAME-TRIGGERING">/System/CommunicationCluster/Can/WestCAN/WestCAN_Channel/FT_WestCAN_NmFrame_DoorCtrl_FL</WAKEUP-FRAME-REF>
        <WAKEUP-FRAME-REF DEST="CAN-FRAME-TRIGGERING">/System/CommunicationCluster/Can/EastCAN/EastCAN_Channel/FT_EastCAN_NmFrame_DoorCtrl_FR</WAKEUP-FRAME-REF>
      </WAKEUP-FRAME-REFS>
    </PNC-MAPPING>

  4. Match each element against the chapter that created it.

    ElementValueChapter that created it
    PHYSICAL-CHANNEL-REFSVLAN_Body, WestCAN_Channel, EastCAN_ChannelTopology Design
    PNC-IDENTIFIER17PNC Definition and Connector PNC Properties
    PNC-GROUP-REFSFour I-PDU GroupsSignals, PDUs, Frames, and I-PDU Groups
    SERVICE-INSTANCE-REFSThree SOME/IP instancesInterfaces and SOME/IP Services
    VFC-IREFSVFC_Comfort (PORT-GROUP)VFB and VFC
    WAKEUP-FRAME-REFSFT_WestCAN_NmFrame_DoorCtrl_FL, FT_EastCAN_NmFrame_DoorCtrl_FRSignals, PDUs, Frames, and I-PDU Groups

Note. The PNC_Comfort_ServiceGroup that PNC-CONSUMED-PROVIDED-SERVICE-INSTANCE-GROUPS points to is not something you created on screen. PAIO creates a service discovery start/stop group for each PNC automatically during export.

Note. SHORT-LABEL and the SHORT-NAME inside IDENT are both PNC_Comfort. You can step through the other two PNCs (PNC_ParkAssist and PNC_Trailer) with the ↓ button in the find box.

Checking the Schema Check Results​

The XML editor checks the file once against the bundled AUTOSAR XSD when it opens the file. There is no run button.

  1. Click the PROBLEMS header below the editor to expand the panel. When there are zero errors, the header shows no count badge and the panel does not expand by itself.

  2. Confirm that the table contains only No problems found, and that the status bar shows Schema: R25-11 and ✓ No problems.

    The expanded PROBLEMS panel and the status bar

    Figure 12-8. The expanded PROBLEMS panel. The columns are # / LINE / ELEMENT / ERROR TYPE / DESCRIPTION / SUGGESTION, and the only content is No problems found. The status bar below shows Schema: R25-11 and ✓ No problems.

  3. Open the remaining four files the same way, by double-clicking each one under EXPORT, and check them. In the finished example, PNC_DataType.arxml, PNC_Interface.arxml, and PNC_SWC.arxml report zero errors like PNC_System.arxml. PNC_COM.arxml reports 22 errors: its PROBLEMS panel expands by itself with the count badge 22, and the status bar shows 22 errors in place of ✓ No problems.

    PNC_COM.arxml with 22 schema errors in the PROBLEMS panel

    Figure 12-9. PNC_COM.arxml right after it opens. ① The tab PNC:PNC_COM.arxml. ② The PROBLEMS panel, expanded by itself, with the count badge 22. The first rows are Invalid Enum Value errors on NM-COORDINATOR-ROLE: Value 'NONE' in <NM-COORDINATOR-ROLE> is not a valid enumeration value, with the suggestion Allowed values: ACTIVE, PASSIVE, which the SUGGESTION column cuts short. ③ 22 errors at the end of the status bar, after Schema: R25-11.

Note. The errors in PNC_COM.arxml come from how the current PAIO export writes two kinds of values that the R25-11 schema does not accept. In the finished example there are 22. Twelve are Invalid Enum Value errors: the NM nodes whose NM COORDINATOR ROLE is NONE (NM Configuration) are written as <NM-COORDINATOR-ROLE>NONE</NM-COORDINATOR-ROLE>, while the schema allows only ACTIVE and PASSIVE. The other ten are Invalid Value errors: in the five <SOMEIP-SD-SERVER-SERVICE-INSTANCE-CONFIG> elements, the <MAX-VALUE> and <MIN-VALUE> of <REQUEST-RESPONSE-DELAY> are written as the text undefined, where the schema expects a number (Value must be an xsd:double). The other four files are not affected.

Note. The schema check and the VALIDATION panel from The System Editor and Validation are two different checks. The schema check looks at whether the ARXML document matches the AUTOSAR XSD grammar, while the validation panel looks at whether the model obeys the AUTOSAR constraints (constr_*). Both must be at zero before another tool can use this ARXML as it is.

Verifying by Importing Again​

You can read the exported ARXML back in as it is. Checking whether you arrive at the same model is a round-trip check. This section is optional.

  1. Create an empty project. This lets you keep the original project and compare against it. PROJECT › New Project... (or New Project on the Welcome tab, which HELP › Welcome opens) will do. The new project opens in a window of its own, and the window of PNC closes.
  2. In the EDITOR view of the new window, click Import, the first of the four icons on the right of the DESIGN header. The file picker Select files to import opens.
  3. Select all five ARXML files in PNC/export. You can pick several at once.
  4. The Importing ARXML Files progress dialog appears and runs through parsing → merging → resolving.
  5. When the import finishes, click System under DESIGN in the EDITOR view to open the System editor, and confirm that the three PNCs, the identifiers 17 / 18 / 19, and the connectors' PNC GATEWAY TYPE are unchanged.

Caution. Importing into the same project is handled as a merge, not an overwrite, and if any item has a different value, the Conflict Resolution dialog appears. When the import starts, unsaved edits in every open tab are written to disk first. For the detailed behavior, see Import and Export.

Why Is the Output Split into Five Files?​

PAIO does not export a project as one block of ARXML. It splits the output according to the roles of the AUTOSAR documents. Data types and interfaces are definitions that several projects share, SWC is the software structure, COM is the ECU and network deployment, and System is the mapping that ties the two together. The PNC design appears scattered across several files for the same reason. "Which PNC binds which channels, PDU groups, service instances, and VFCs" is a mapping, so it goes into System, while "whether this connector is a gateway and what its filter mask is" is ECU deployment, so it goes into COM. As a result, another tool can read only the documents it needs.

Check Your Work​

  • EXPORT in the EDITOR view lists the five files PNC_COM.arxml, PNC_DataType.arxml, PNC_Interface.arxml, PNC_SWC.arxml, and PNC_System.arxml.
  • Searching for <PNC-MAPPING> in PNC_System.arxml shows 1 of 3.
  • The <SHORT-NAME> of the first mapping is PNC_Comfort and its <PNC-IDENTIFIER> is 17.
  • The same block holds three physical channel references, four PNC-GROUP-REF elements, three SERVICE-INSTANCE-REF elements, one VFC-IREF, and two WAKEUP-FRAME-REF elements.
  • The status bar of PNC_System.arxml shows Schema: R25-11 and ✓ No problems, and the PROBLEMS table contains only No problems found.
  • Opening the remaining four files shows zero errors in PNC_DataType.arxml, PNC_Interface.arxml, and PNC_SWC.arxml, and in PNC_COM.arxml only the errors that come from the export (22 in the finished example: 12 on NM-COORDINATOR-ROLE, 5 on MAX-VALUE, and 5 on MIN-VALUE).

Next Steps​

The Appendix summarizes the file structure of the project this tutorial built and what each model file contains.