IEEE 771-1984

The purpose of this guide is to advise on the principles of good practice in the use of ATLAS for the writing of test procedures. This advice has been drawn from practical applications in many organizations. A number of companies are contractually committed to prepare test procedures in ATLAS, a system which must be unambiguously interpreted by both personnel and machines. The experiences of test engineers from these companies have been distilled to prepare this guide. Since ATLAS must be capable of communicating complex test requirements, the language has a large vocabulary and complex syntax. Therefore, it is not always readily understandable. Herein lies the need for this guide. The guide concentrates on the proper use of the ATLAS vocabulary, syntax, and structure for the generation of unambiguous test procedures. If the guide assists in the preparation of good test procedures, it should also assist in the writing of computer programs which will efficiently process ATLAS test procedures for automatic implementation.

Revision Standard - Superseded. This guide has mainly been written as an applications manual for engineers and authors who will be writing test procedures in ATLAS. The beginning chapters are also intended to provide managers with a brief introduction to the application of ATLAS in their organizations. This guide is not, in any way, intended to be a substitute for an instruction manual in the ATLAS language, but, rather, a practical extension to such a manual. It has been assumed that this guide will prove most useful to those engineers who are preparing test requirements in ATLAS. The cross referencing, therefore, between this guide and ANSI/IEEE Std 416-1984 has been confined to the classical definitions presented in ANSI/IEEE Std 416-1984. Appropriate cross references are included in parentheses following section headings, and unless otherwise stated, they relate to ANSI/IEEE Std 416-1984