Design and implementation issues in an integrated database management system for engineering design environment

The need for a unified database management system for various engineering applications has long been felt. Due to the conflicting requirements, so far, most of the attempts in this field are at best partially successful. This paper presents broad perspectives of design and implementation issues of an integrated database management system. A unique feature of the system is its ability to define a unifying data model for matrices and relations. The system also provides for a unified language interface for different user groups. System architecture and a few distinguishing features are described. An evaluation of the system is presented.     

A tool shelf for tracking design decisions

An extensible conceptual model for recording design decisions and other supporting information is described along with the tool shell OSC in which it is embedded. The OSC shell consists of a design database and a family of query, manipulation, and extension facilities. The design database maintains a record of the design process. The extension facilities can be used to enrich the design database scheme incrementally and create new query or manipulation facilities. The core model provides a base language for describing the design process. Extension facilities augment this basis with more powerful, customized facilities. The implementation of the OSC shell using ESSAIM, an expert-system shell based on Smalltalk, is discussed     

智能数据库工具技术

本文详细介绍了一个智能数据库支持工具FoxPert的设计与实现技术.该工具立足于主流数据库系统，采用一种增强的松耦合结构实现了FoxPro,Oracle与知识表示语言CLIPS(C language integrated production system)的无缝连接.它在体系结构、集成平台、集成方向和集成形式上具有鲜明的技术特点，已在不同部门推广应用.     

An ontology-based universal design knowledge support system

An effective and efficient knowledge support system is crucial for universal design process, as it has become a major design issue in the last decade with the growth of the elderly population and disabled people. There are a limited number of CAD investigations on the nature of knowledge processing that supports the cognitive activities of universal design process. Therefore, this paper proposes an ontology-based computer-assisted universal design (CAUD) plug-in tool that supports designers in developing satisfactory universal design solutions in the conceptual design phase. The required knowledge processing and representation of the developed tool is motivated by the ontological language. It is based on the multiple divergence–convergence cognitive strategies and cognitive needs of designers in the analysis/synthesis/evaluation operations. The CAUD plug-in tool is the first attempt to interface the universal design knowledge ontologically and respond to the requirements of conceptual design phase. According to the user acceptance study, the tool is assessed as useful, understandable, efficient, supportive and satisfactory.     

Some aspects of a physical database design and reorganisation tool (PDRT)

In the last few years there have been many attempts at automating database but very few of them have paid more than lip service to performance issues. Algorithms and methods are available for performance related aspects of design such as index selection, clustering of data and query optimisation. However, these are scattered widely through the literature. The tool described in this paper aims to bring these together in a single coherent approach to database design which complements logical design tools from other sources. The paper describes a method for capturing user requirements on a database and converting them into a load graph representation which can be used for data placement by a physical database design and reorganisation tool (PDRT).     

Composing domain-specific design environments

Domain-specific integrated development environments can help capture specifications in the form of domain models. These tools support the design process by automating analysis and simulating essential system behavior. In addition, they can automatically generate, configure, and integrate target application components. The high cost of developing domain-specific, integrated modeling, analysis, and application-generation environments prevents their penetration into narrower engineering fields that have limited user bases. Model-integrated computing (MIC), an approach to model-based engineering that helps compose domain-specific design environments rapidly and cost effectively, is particularly relevant for specialized computer-based systems domains-perhaps even single projects. The authors describe how MIC provides a way to compose such environments cost effectively and rapidly by using a metalevel architecture to specify the domain-specific modeling language and integrity constraints. They also discuss the toolset that implements MIC and describe a practical application in which using the technology in a tool environment for the process industry led to significant reductions in development and maintenance costs     

Providing Database Interoperability through Object-Oriented Language Constructs

Seamless access to resources and services provided by distributed, autonomous, and heterogeneous systems is central to many advanced applications. Building an integrated system to provide such uniform access and cooperation among underlying heterogeneous systems is both an increasing necessity and a formidable challenge. An important component of such a complex integrated system is a unified language that serves both as a data definition and as a data manipulation tool. Special requirements are posed in the instance of an integrated system which includes database systems among its components. In this paper, we introduce the necessary constructs that an object-oriented programming language should provide for being adopted as the language of the integrated system in such a setting. We adopt a modular, object-based approach to integration. Each component system that joins the integration provides a set of basic classes and pre-defined basic methods. We show how the class hierarchy of the system can be used to provide a uniform way of mapping database resources to basic classes and associative queries to basic methods. A view mechanism is introduced that supports the integration of the basic classes and provides a means of expressing relationships among them and resolving any potential conflicts. The view mechanism is implemented by extending the standard class constructors of an object-oriented language to support the definition of virtual classes. The language provides workflow constructs for defining the structure of programs and for attaining synchronization among concurrently executing programs. Furthermore, atomicity and concurrency control information is included in the form of consistency assertions as part of the interface of each basic method.     

基于SIMPASS技术的高安全性门禁系统设计

基于手机作为身份认证工具的门禁系统的软件架构进行了数据库、流程、界面等全面设计,增加开锁组合功能.同时对系统的硬件选型、连接进行了分析.指出了该设计与传统门禁系统相比所具有的优越性.     

Managing the exchange of engineering product data to support through life ship design

An approach for managing the exchange of engineering product data between geographically distributed designers and analysts using a heterogeneous tool set for the through-life design of a ship is described. The approach was developed within a pan-European maritime project called VRShips-ROPAX 2000 that demonstrated how information technology could be integrated into the design process. This paper describes the development of a common model containing neutral ship product data through a bottom-up consideration of the requirements of the tools to be integrated, as well as a top-down consideration of the data requirements for through life design. This common model was supported within an Integrated Design Environment (IDE) that co-ordinated design activity distributed across Europe. The IDE ensured that the users were provided with the right data in the right form at the right time to do the right task, i.e., that the design activity was timely and appropriate. The strengths and weaknesses of the approach are highlighted.     

DDA — a data definition facility for unix using awk

We discuss how the Awk language is an effective tool for interrogating sequential data files whose records consist of characters grouped into fields. This facility is used to implement a system to manage an ‘address book’ database. We then generalize the design, describing a system which allows one to interactively specify a DBMS according to one's own requirements within our general framework. We choose a wine-tasting DBMS as an example specification for further consideration and evaluation.     

An object-oriented knowledge based Petri net approach to intelligent integration of design and assembly planning

Artificial intelligence can play an important role in the reduction of manufacturing costs and the enhancement of production efficiency and product quality. In order to assist designers in the early stages of a product development this paper develops an intelligent methodology for integration of design and assembly planning processes, including product design, assembly evaluation and redesign, assembly process planning, design of assembly system and assembly simulation, subjected to both econo-technical and ergonomic evaluations. A new unified class of object-oriented knowledge based Petri nets called OOKPNs, incorporating knowledge based expert systems and fuzzy logic into ordinary place–transition Petri nets, is defined and used for the representation and modeling of the distributed design processes. A prototype intelligent integrated design and assembly planning system (IIDAP) is implemented through distributed blackboard structure with concurrent integration of multiple cooperative knowledge sources and software. It consists essentially of the networked agents and the meta-system, each of which is a knowledge Petri net system with the capabilities of problem solving, learning and conflict resolution, and can be obtained through the inheritance, polymorphism and dynamic binding of instances of OOKPNs. In IIDAP system, both C/C++ language and COOL (CLIPS object-oriented language) are used to incorporate a Petri net tool, a geometric modeling and design tool, a planner and simulator and an evaluation tool. By use of this system, product design and assembly planning can be carried out simultaneously and intelligently in an entirely computer-aided concurrent design and assembly planning system. The design of manufacturable, cost-effective, usable products can therefore be achieved rapidly and flexibly. The developed methodology and system have been successfully applied to assembly design and planning of a micro switch.     

Database design technique

The usefullness of database management techniques is directly related to the manner in which the database itself is designed. Numerous attempts have been made to bring structure to the design process. The paper proposes a coherent integrated approach to database design and describes an extensive example of its use. Procedures to obtain functional dependencies are defined and shown to be effective. Tools to assist in the logical design of databases are described and their use illustrated.     

An integrative approach to requirements analysis: How task models support requirements reuse in a user-centric design framework

Many software systems fail to address their intended purpose because of a lack of user involvement and requirements deficiencies. This paper discusses the elaboration of a requirements-analysis process that integrates a critical-parameter-based approach to task modeling within a user-centric design framework. On one hand, adapting task models to capture requirements bridges the gap between scenarios and critical parameters which benefits design from the standpoint of user involvement and accurate requirements. On the other hand, using task models as a reusable component leverages requirements reuse which benefits design by increasing quality while simultaneously reducing development costs and time-to-market. First, we present the establishment of both a user-centric and reuse-centric requirements process along with its implementation within an integrated design tool suite. Secondly, we report the design, procedures, and findings of two user studies aimed at assessing the feasibility for novice designers to conduct the process as well as evaluating the resulting benefits upon requirements-analysis deliverables, requirements quality, and requirements reuse.     

A logical design tool for relational databases

A method is presented to prevent anomalies from affecting the design of a relational database. The approach, called the logical design tool (LDT), can also be used as an educational tool for the relational database. It allows certain problems that arise when the data is manipulated to be detected during design. An overview of LDT is followed by a discussion of its functions and its application     

An integrated system for computer aided design and analysis of multibody systems

An integrated system for design and analysis of multibody systems has been developed and is described in this paper. The use of the system is demonstrated through the example provided. The system consists of a commercially available CAD program and a multibody system analysis code developed at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, These tools are integrated using a relational database, the structure of which was developed at Luleå University of Technology, in order to get a complete system for design and analysis of multibody systems. The main gains from the integrated system are the possibilities of using calculated component data like mass and moment of inertia from the CAD program in the simulation models, the automatic formulation of input files for the analysis code, and finally the visualization of simulation results using the surface data of the solid models. The interactive structured query language (ISQL) of the database management system provides the possibility of examining the components of the multibody system during the design work and before any simulation is performed.     

制图竞赛管理系统的设计与实现

为了高效、有序地组织“高教杯”制图竞赛,采用VB6.0 开发语言、Access 数据库、Excel 表格工具及Crystal Reports 报表工具设计开发了制图竞赛管理系统。该系统 结合Windows API 编程和Excel VBA 开发实现了包含图片信息的批量录入功能,使用Crystal Reports 报表工具实现包含图片信息的批量输出和打印。该系统的设计和实现为其它同类需 求软件的开发提供了借鉴。     

A predicate-logical method for modelling design objects

The subject of this paper is to formulate a modeller to descibe and manipulate models of design objects primarily in discrete manufacturing in terms of whatever attributes, functions of or relations among them are desired. Critical analysis is made on samples from typical past and current methods to reveal that none of them meets the requirements proper to CAD/CAM. These requirements derive from the more fundamental characteristics of our universe of discourse, the core fact being that the target of modelling is the ‘real’ world of physical and sensible entities and phenomena. This fact together with the desired formalness of the modeller makes us turn to the theories of natural-scientific structures, particularly those of logical-positivistic tradition and choose D. Hilbert's formal-axiomatic method of constructing mathematical disciplines as our paradigm. A sketch of a modeller in accordance with this paradigm is given.A model to be constructed contains a set of first order predicate-logical formulae as axioms that represent design requirements and a fact database that is an interpretation. The language of a partial implementation of the said modeller which has been in practical use for several years is presented in more details.     

An IKBS for integrating component design to tool engineering

Abstract: Component design and tool engineering functions are two sequentially related activities. Many additional benefits may arise if these activities can be effectively integrated together within a central environment. The principal aim of the research described in this paper is to develop a component design and tool engineering Intelligent Knowledge Based System (IKBS), called Holdex to demonstrate such a concept. It is an implementation designed to deduce the planning, design, tooling, procurement and scheduling information at the component design stage. It also assists the component designers in the operation of a Computer Aided Design (Cad) system and leads them towards the rationalisation of resources by encouraging standardisation of designs. A major benefit to arise from the provision of such assistance is to facilitate the tasks of executing the production engineering functions. The range of functions performed by Holdex includes the specification of a set of cutting tools; planning a set of pre-machining requirements; recommendation of the appropriate machine tool and manning level; and the automated design of fixtures. Towards this end, this research aims to provide a foundation for enabling industry to manufacture with the least amount of manual interpretation.     

Situating natural language understanding within experience-based design

Building useful systems with an ability to understand "real" natural language input has long been an elusive goal for Artificial Intelligence. Well-known problems such as ambiguity, indirectness, and incompleteness of natural language inputs have thwarted efforts to build natural language interfaces to intelligent systems. In this article, we report on our work on a model of understanding natural language design specifications of physical devices such as simple electrical circuits. Our system, called KA, solves the classical problems of ambiguity, incompleteness and indirectness by exploiting the knowledge and problem-solving processes in the situation of designing simple physical devices. In addition, KA acquires its knowledge structures (apart from a basic ontology of devices) from the results of its problem-solving processes. Thus, KA can be bootstrapped to understand design specifications and user feedback about new devices using the knowledge structures it acquired from similar devices designed previously.In this paper, we report on three investigations in the KA project. Our first investigation demonstrates that KA can resolve ambiguities in design specifications as well as infer unarticulated requirements using the ontology, the knowledge structures, and the problem-solving processes provided by its design situation. The second investigation shows that KA's problem-solving capabilities help ascertain the relevance of indirect design specifications, and identify unspecified relations between detailed requirements. The third investigation demonstrates the extensibility of KA's theory of natural language understanding by showing that KA can interpret user feedback as well as design requirements. Our results demonstrate that situating language understanding in problem solving, such as device design in KA, provides effective solutions to unresolved problems in natural language processing.