ABSTRACT
This chapter considers some of the aspects of incorporating external components into a system that will be subject to certification. It utilizes the terms “integrator” and “component supplier” to refer to the team building the system, and the source of the components, respectively. For many of the components that are included into a certified system, there is no choice between using a certified or uncertified version because the component supplier cannot supply a certified version. The component may or may not actually have been certified and, if not, this route simply gathers all the artifacts together and effectively certify the component at the same time as the system into which it is incorporated. The conditions of the certification will place an obligation on the component supplier to keep the integrator informed of any bugs that are discovered in the component that could potentially affect safe operation.
