[cad-linux] Re: Database Use Cases

if done correctly the end user should never know about the database.
all he/she should know is that he needs to change a door on the 5th floor 
from a single 30" wide to a double door that spans 60".  or you change an 
aircraft frame from the type used at station 425 to the type used at 550, and 
the "system" fixes it.

<soapbox>

last week we were in training for a new cad system at my day job.
they kept bragging about how cool the new database system was going to be 
about checking out parts, dash numbers, linking drawings when they are added 
to your bill of materials so that if you decide to change one it tells you 
that you are about to screw up 8 others.

i was not impressed.  i worked for a company in Austin that had an in-house 
package that did that back i the mid 90s.  on DOS.  they are just playing 
catch up and did not know it.  yes the database can add a lot of cool 
features, but it needs to be transparent/hidden.  if the addition of the 
database causes the designer to double the amount of time to develop the 
design and get it to manufaturing then the 20% speed improvments gained by 
the CAD end of the system are lost.

Sorry for the rant, but it's fresh on my mind.  they sent me to one week of 
training for the new cad system and next they are going to send me to two 
weeks on the database to manage it.

on a side note i heard a rumor (again) about Catia V6 running on Linux as 
it's primary platform.  i tried to get more information, but they changed the 
subject.

i do like the idea of the database, don't get me wrong. 
it's just a sore spot for me right now.

</soapbox>

On Friday 16 May 2003 16:17, you wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> In the past week this mailing list seen _lots_ of very interesting discus=
> sions about
> client/server models and CAD - database integration. But most of the disc=
> ussions
> have been of a technical nature.
>
> What I like to ask with this thread are the requirements a end user of a =
> CAD system
> might have for a database system. What would Joe Average User expect from
> a database backend? What would make his work easier and more productive?
> Or why should Joe investigate time and money to get a database on his PC
> or on a server when his CAD system already works very well with the nativ=
> e
> file  format. Files are stored on a Network Filesystem like Samba or NFS,
> so the whole team can access them. Why a database? Why all the trouble
> with database setup and maintenance?
>
> Of course I can think of some reasons, but I am more a software developer=
> ,
> not so much a CAD user. So I am looking forward to hear from you what
> you would tell your boss to convince him/her that a database is a must-ha=
> ve?
> What would be the end user visible features of such a database integratio=
> n?
> Which features would you like to see in a database module if everything w=
> ould be possible?
>
> Bye,
> Thomas

-- 
Oh i've slipped the surly bonds of DOS 
and danced the skies on Linux silvered wings.
http://pfrostie.freeservers.com/cad-tastrafy/
http://www.freelists.org/webpage/cad-linux

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