FORWISS

BAVARIAN RESEARCH CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE-BASED SYSTEMS

OCAD

Field of work:

Object-oriented modelling techniques and database systems claim to fulfil non-standard requirements significantly better than established techniques such as ER modelling and relational DBMSs. Starting point of the OCAD project, therefore, was the question how much available object-oriented technology is suitable for CAD applications in the fields of architecture and civil engineering.

To evaluate feasibility of commercially available object-oriented systems, an object-oriented database schema was developed for Nemetschek Programmsystem GmbH´s CAD product ALLPLAN. Based on this, selected object-oriented DBMSs have been compared and a prototypical demonstration program, the so-called viewer, has been developed for displaying CAD drawings.

Application:
Nemetschek GmbH, Germany´s leading vendor of CAD solutions for architecture and facility management, has decided, based on the convincing demonstration of the coupling of his CAD system ALLPLAN with an object-oriented DBMS, to incorporate this technology in their product portfolio. Under the name of X-World for Windows NT a scaleable solution is offered which comprises fully object-oriented data management, including all structural and multimedia information. See Computerwoche, Nr. 44, 3-nov-1995, p. 44 (in German).