Question 1
a) Why should component manufacturers be interested in the CIS?
b) What does the CIS offer suppliers and manufacturers?
c) How can we distribute our product information electronically?
Answer to Q1
The great majority of the products used in a steel frame comply with some
form of 'standard'. Product manufacturers and software vendors frequently hold
libraries of such proprietary items. The CIS takes advantage of this fact to
transfer unambiguous references to such product items, between CIS-compatible
software.
Your product catalogues should now be compiled so that they are suitable for
implementation in computer systems. The first parts of the references are
assigned to a manufacturer on application to the CIS. The remainder of the
references are assigned by the manufacturer to uniquely identify that item
within that manufacture's total product range.
Manufacturers are encouraged to place their manufacturer's-lists on the World
Wide Web, from where they can be accessed and down-loaded by software vendors
and end-users. Access links to these manufacturer managed lists will be provided
from this CIS World Wide Web server. In the
short term, manufacturer's-lists may be mounted directly on the CIS server.
Question 2
"What about using XML as an implementation tool for CIS/2"
Answer to Q2
In theory this is possible, and it may well become a practical reality
quite soon. However, until there are agreed standards (and
supporting toolkit software?) for representing EXPRESS data structures in
XML, it is inappropriate to base an open industrial solution on XML.
Traditionally, STEP has focused on the use of standardized exchange files for
communicating information. However, many in the STEP community are investigating
mechanisms for more dynamic and finer-grained information sharing using database
management systems (DBMSs). Within STEP, the different types of data sharing are
referred to as levels of implementation. These are:
 | Level 1 data sharing by means of exchange files. |
| Level 2 data sharing using a standard in-memory data format. |
| Level 3 data sharing using a database management system as the means
of data storage and access. |
| Level 4 data storage and access via a knowledge-base system. |
When implementing a 'Basic CIS Translator', vendors need to satisfy the
requirements of a Level 1 STEP implementation. When implementing a 'Product
Model Repository' or a 'PMR-enabled Translator', vendors need to satisfy the
requirements of a Level 3 STEP implementation.
It should be noted that the 'implementation forms' above are the forms that
have been identified within the STEP community and are not the only possible
forms of implementation. Researchers are currently investigating the possibility
of combining the technology of STEP - which is primarily concerned with the
representation of data - with the technology of the World Wide Web - which is
primarily concerned with the presentation of data. It is likely that XML (eXtensible
Markup Language) will become an accepted alternative to STEP Part 21 as an
implementation form of an EXPRESS schema.
Currently, STEP Part 28 (XML Implementation of STEP) is a new work item
under ISO/TC184/SC4.
Question 3
What ISO documents do I need when implementing CIS/2?
Answer to Q3
The following STEP Parts are required reading for implementors of
CIS/2:
| ISO 10303-1: 1994 Industrial automation systems - Product data
representation and exchange Part 1: Overview and Fundamental
Principles ISO/IEC, Geneva, Switzerland, 1994 |
| ISO 10303-11: 1994 Industrial automation systems - Product data
representation and exchange Part 11: The EXPRESS Language Reference
Manual, ISO/IEC, Geneva, Switzerland, 1994 |
| ISO 10303-21: 1994 Industrial automation systems - Product data
representation and exchange Part 21: Clear text encoding of the
exchange structure ISO/IEC, Geneva, Switzerland, 1994 |
(Plus Technical Corrigendum 1 published 1996-08-15)
STEP Toolkits may include details taken from the following STEP Parts:
| ISO 10303-22: 1998 Industrial automation systems - Product data
representation and exchange Part 22: Standard Data Access Interface
ISO/IEC, Geneva, Switzerland, 1998 |
| ISO CD 10303-23 (N393): 1996 Industrial automation systems - Product
data representation and exchange Part 23: C++ Programming Language
Binding to the Standard Data Access Interface ISO/IEC, Geneva,
Switzerland, 1996 |
OR
| ISO CD 10303-24 (N014): 1996 Industrial automation systems - Product
data representation and exchange Part 24: C Language Late Binding to
the Standard Data Access Interface ISO/IEC, Geneva, Switzerland, 1996 |
Some constructs from the LPM are taken directly from STEP Parts 41-44,
full descriptions are not included in the CIS/2 documents:
| ISO 10303-41: 1994 Industrial automation systems - Product data
representation and exchange Part 41: Integrated Generic Resources:
Fundamentals of Product Description and Support ISO/IEC, Geneva,
Switzerland, 1994 |
| ISO 10303-42: 1994 Industrial automation systems - Product data
representation and exchange Part 42: Integrated Generic Resources:
Geometric & Topological Representation ISO/IEC, Geneva,
Switzerland, 1994 |
| ISO 10303-43: 1994 Industrial automation systems - Product data
representation and exchange Part 43: Integrated Generic Resources:
Representation Structures ISO/IEC, Geneva, Switzerland, 1994 |
| ISO 10303-44: 1994 Industrial automation systems - Product data
representation and exchange Part 44: Integrated Generic Resources:
Product Structure Configuration ISO/IEC, Geneva, Switzerland, 1994 |
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