STEP Tools News for Monday March 8

[Martin Hardwick]

This 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 
at http://www.steptools.com


------------------------------------- 
XML Data Modules for STEP and STEP-NC

STEP Tools has developed a new method for implementing STEP as suites 
of integrated XML Data Modules.

We define a functional view for a STEP protocol using an XML header 
computed from the ARM model of the standard. This functional view is 
added to the existing information view defined by the AIM and the two 
are connected by inserting mapping table information into each module.
Unlike some other implementation methods, this does not require any 
new definitions to be added to the standards because the information 
required to define the modules is already in the mapping tables.

The main advantages of the new method are as follows:

1. You can mix ARM and AIM representations. Most of the modules 
   on the home page use the AIM but a few use the ARM. The "How 
   to Read a Data Module" paper on the home page describes how 
   they can be mixed.

2. You can edit test cases using tools as simple as a text editor. 
   This was how the Example1 data in the first ZIP file was created 
   from a set of modules generated using a mapping table parser.

3. The modules can be distributed across enterprises and linked 
   using URL's. For example the design data can be at enterprise A,
   the planning data at enterprise B and the machining data at 
   enterprise C.

4. Product model data to be more easily mixed with other kinds of data
   and the new method is easily extensible. The second example on the
   home page shows how STEP-NC modules for pipe bending can be created
   by mixing data from AP-227 and AP-238. 

5. Applications can easily manipulate the data in the modules using the 
   functional (ARM) view defined by the module headers. Systems can easily
   manage the data defined by the modules using the  information (AIM) view
   defined by the module content.

6. Applications and systems can be implemented with tools like DOM, SAX 
   and XSLT as well as the fast efficient libraries in ST-Developer.

We are already implementing projects for customers in which we translate 
the XML output of a CAD or CAM system to the new modules using XSLT. 


---------------------------------------- 
ST-Viewer wins Desktop Engineering Award

We are very pleased to announce that the ST-Viewer won the readers 
choice award as best software product for February 2004.


------------------- 
Translation Service

Still free and continuing to grow more reliable!

Summary: 
Period Covered: Sun Feb 29 04:26:32 2004 -- Sun Mar 7 04:26:32 2004 
Total usage: 68 
Successful usage: 68 (100%) 
Errors: (0%)
Translator total errors success rate 
ACIS to STEP: 9 0 100% 
STEP to ACIS: 3 0 100% 
AP203 Checker: 35 0 100% 
Parasolid to STEP: 5 0 100% 
STEP to Parasolid: 10 0 100% 

======================================= 
All-Time stats 
------------------------------------ 
Summary: 
Period Covered: Wed Dec 31 19:00:00 1969 -- Sun Mar 7 04:27:07 2004 
Total usage: 21469 
Successful usage: 19900 (92%) 
Errors: 1569 (7%)

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