[cad-linux] Re: Base file format for our efforts...
- From: "Hundiak, Arthur" <ahundiak@xxxxxxxx>
- To: "'cad-linux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'" <cad-linux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2003 13:19:43 -0600
On 14 Jan 2003 at 7:32 PM, Andrew Lowe wrote:
> The obvious way to go at the moment is some form of XML.
>This is text based and we can define our own schema, although I
>think there are already one or two schema's being developed at the
>moment that are aimed at the CAD market - I will look through my
>bookmarks. In terms of the one file being all things, have a look at
>cimsteel, www.cis2.org. This is a thing in the structural steel industry
>where the one file can be used by a wide variety of packages,
>modelling, analysis, detailing, costing. It is done in the EXPRESS
>language and is working its way towards a STEP format.
Just to follow up on this a bit. STEP has been around for about 20 years or
so. It was intended for transferring both graphical and non-graphical
information between cad systems. Files are generally stored in something
called the "Part 21" clear text format and are reasonably compact. Recently,
xml schemas for various parts of STEP have been developed and people are
starting to store STEP data in XML.
The good thing is that quite a few existing cad platforms have at least some
tools for importing/exporting step data. There are also companies that make
STEP specific tools. So by using STEP as a native file format, you would start
off with at least some interoperability with existing systems.
The bad thing is that STEP has changed courses a number of times over the
years. It's big and bulky and difficult to get a grasp on. But at least it's
something to consider.
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