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# Frequently Asked Questions

## General

#### Do I need to use Origen to use this?

No. This library complements the Origen eco-system but it has no dependencies on it.
It can be used with a test program and patterns that originate from any tool
chain.

#### Do I need to pay for it?

No. It is licensed under the [MIT License](https://tldrlegal.com/license/mit-license) which means
that you can do whatever you like with it.

#### Is it production worthy?

Sort of. We are using it in some minor production scenarios within NXP, however it is still
in the very early stages of development and the APIs are subject to change until we reach version 1.

#### Will it break my test program when I upgrade to a new version of the library?

No. This project will follow the [semantic versioning](http://semver.org/) standard
which means that we must be fully backwards-compatible between major version releases, which
should not happen very often (maybe every few years).

However, until we hit major version 1, some minor instability is allowed while we
get the foundational architecture and APIs worked out.
Having said that, this library will soon be qualified in some production test programs within NXP
and at that point any API breakages will be as painful for us as it would be for anyone else,
so major flux is not expected.

Of course bugs can and do happen, and we would recommend that you follow normal checkout
procedures to qualify your test program when updating the Origen library.

#### Can I contribute?

Yes! NXP is releasing this to the industry with the hope that we can work together to create
common infrastructure that goes beyond the foundation provided by the ATE vendors.

Please [contact us](http://origen-sdk.org/origen/community/) if you need help to get started.


#### Is it supported by the ATE vendors?

No. Although we hope in time that the vendor's apps engineers will become active
contributors to this library and will start to use it in their own applications.

#### Is it supported by NXP?

Not officially. It is open source and comes with no guarantees.

#### So who does support it then?

Right now the Origen core team (who are mainly all NXP employees today, but we hope that will change),
are the primary
maintainers and we will consider feature requests and address bug reports that are submitted by users
of the library.

However anyone is more then welcome to contribute bug fixes, feature additions,
documentation, etc. and ultimately we hope to see a self-sustaining community grow around
this project.

#### What platforms do you intend to support?

Initially we are developing this as an offshoot of some new test programs we are making for
the Advantest V93K platform.

We do expect to start to adding similar features for Teradyne platforms (likely J570 and UltraFLEX)
next year.

## V93K Specific

#### Why do we need this?

The standard test method library that comes with SmarTest for AC and DC tests, is no longer
recommended by Advantest.

However, while its replacement (RDI) is a high-level API in terms of the tester hardware, it is
still a low level
API in terms of a complete test. Anyone who wants to implement even a basic test, has
to write a custom test method from scratch instead of just picking up an existing test
method off the shelf.

This project aims to fill that void and provide a modern library of off-the-shelf test
methods that adhere to the latest Advantest guidelines.

#### I will probably still need some custom tests, can this help with those?

Yes. The off-the-shelf test methods provided by this library are very thin wrappers around
a high level Origen API, which implements high level functions such as "run a functional test",
"run a pattern and take a DC measurement", etc.
Each of these functions provides a standard set of callback points so that your test program can easily
hook into their execution in order to add your own customizations.

Additionally, as well as complete test methods, this project also aims to provide a rich
library of helper functions
that can be used when writing your own tests.

#### Does it perform well?

Yes. It uses the latest RDI APIs recommended by Advantest under the hood and it will in future
fully support background data-processing using the SmartCalc framework.

#### Why is the library not installed at system level?

We want to encourage the users of the library to look inside it, so that they can begin to understand
it, be empowered to do front line debug, and be able to experiment with adding new features.
Distributing it as a binary for installation at system level would add a significant barrier
to the open and inclusive way of working that we want to encourage.

Installing it within the test program itself also makes the test programs self contained and
therefore more portable between test systems.

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