STEP Tools weekly newsletter for February 1 (day late)

[Martin Hardwick]

This weekly newsletter is a brief update of what is going on in STEP
and at STEP Tools, Inc.  If you want to know more, try the STEP Tools
web site (http://www.steptools.com).

--------------------
AP-227 Testing

Rumor has it that Shell Oil bought an AP-227 file to the Daratech
symposium on Oil and Gas in Houston and only Bentley Microstation was
the only CAD system able to read the file. Bentley is a STEP Tools
customer so here is another demonstration of how implementing STEP
translators (not just AP-203) is easier using our software.

AP-227 is a protocol for exchanging information about the design of
Process Plants. It is going to become an International Standard in the
next few months. It is normal for the early data exchange tests to
experience problems. 

--------------------
ISO STEP Meeting in San Francisco

The San Francisco meeting last week was a big one for the STEP
infrastructure. Over the next two years it is going to become
much easier to develop and deploy STEP Application Protocols.

* A new methodology is going to make it easier to extend
  Application Protocols to include new functionality.
* The EXPRESS-X Mapping Language is going to make it easier to
  integrate legacy databases with Application Protocols.
* An ammendment to Part 21 is going to allow a Part 21 file to
  store data belonging to multiple Application Protocols.
* The Java binding of the SDAI is going to allow Java applications
  to process STEP defined data without knowing anything about
  EXPRESS.
* The XML binding for Part 21 is going to allow STEP data to be
  mixed with other kinds of data in XML files.

--------------------
XML Translator on Translation Service

An XML to STEP translator has been added to the translation
service. A STEP to XML translator has been on our service for
several months. The new translator takes XML data and makes it
into Part 21 data so you can now roundtrip your translations.

http://www.steptools.com/translate

--------------------
Translation Service for the last two weeks. 

Summary:
Period Covered: Sun Jan 24 03:25:03 1999 -- Sun Jan 31 03:25:03 1999
Total usage: 35
Successful usage: 34 (97%)
Errors: 1 (2%)

Translator	total	errors	success rate

acis-ap203	7	0	100%
ap203-acis	19	1	94%
ap203-vrml	1	0	100%
ap203-xml	1	0	100%
express2html	1	0	100%
gifviz		4	0	100%
steptoimage	2	0	100%

------------------------------------
Summary:
Period Covered: Sun Jan 17 03:25:03 1999 -- Sun Jan 24 03:25:03 1999
Total usage: 115
Successful usage: 93 (80%)
Errors: 22 (19%)

Translator	total	errors	success rate

acis-ap203	25	0	100%
ap203-acis	20	3	85%
ap203-stl	22	13	40%
ap203-vrml	3	2	33%
ap203-xml	3	0	100%
ap203check	8	0	100%
expfront2	12	0	100%
express2html	11	0	100%
gifviz		5	4	20%
steptoimage	4	0	100%
xml2step	2	0	100%

=======================================
All-Time stats

------------------------------------
Summary:
Period Covered: Wed Dec 31 19:00:00 1969 -- Sun Jan 31 03:25:12 1999
Total usage: 2844
Successful usage: 2474 (86%)
Errors: 370 (13%)


Translator	total	errors	success rate

acis-ap203	578	17	97%
ap203-acis	1032	120	88%
ap203-stl	77	33	57%
ap203-vrml	307	85	72%
ap203-xml	74	12	83%
ap203check	96	12	87%
expfront	124	17	86%
expfront2	61	0	100%
express2html	216	0	100%
expxfront	11	1	90%
gifviz	67	28	58%
iges-ap202	10	0	100%
sp203-xml	13	2	84%
steptoimage	176	43	75%
xml2step	2	0	100%

--------------------
Our Tools

Our tools have been used to implement the STEP translators of EDS
Unigraphics, Bentley Microstation, Alias Wavefront, IRONCAD, CADKEY
and many more. For more information on classes, consulting and any of
these tools contact info at steptools.com.

Programming:
* ST-Developer -- programming tools for writing STEP applications,
  translators and databases.

* ST-ORACLE -- SQL programming tool for moving STEP data into and
  out of ORACLE databases. 

* ST-ObjectStore -- ObjectStore binding of ST-Developer for moving
  STEP data into and out of ObjectStore databases.

* ST-PowerModel -- programming tools for moving STEP data into and
  out of PowerModel databases.

* ST-ACIS Library -- programming functions to convert STEP data to 
  and from ACIS models and SAT files.

* ST-Parasolid Library -- programming functions to convert STEP data to 
  and from Parasolid models.

Desktop:
* ST-EXPRESS -- desktop tool to visualize EXPRESS schemas.

* ST-ACIS Translator -- desktop tool for translating STEP data to
  ACIS and vice versa.

* ST-Parasolid Translator -- desktop tool for translating STEP data to
  Parasolid and vice versa.

* ST-Visualizer -- desktop tool to view, analyze and check the
  accuracy of STEP databases.

Database:
* ST-WebExchange -- World Wide Web database for product data sharing
  integration, translation and visualization over the Internet
  using Enterprise JavaBeans.


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