1.  Eurostep 2000 The Future of STEP (ISO 10303) Bernd G. Wenzel Eurostep GmbH bernd.wenzel@eurostep.com

2.  Eurostep 2000 Overview l Introduction to Eurostep l Achievements of STEP l Problems with STEP l Directions for STEP l Questions and answers

3.  Eurostep 2000 Introduction to Eurostep l Eurostep facts t International commercial consulting company t approx. 30 consultants in 5 countries èSweden (headquarters) èGermany èFinland èUK èUSA t STEP èS tandard T echnology E xploitation P artners Information integration as enabler for process integration and systems integration èStrong involvement in ISO TC184/SC4 leadership roles in most WGs and committees

4.  Eurostep 2000 Achievements of STEP STEP is t an international standard for CAD data exchange t an international standard for PDM data exchange t a collection of standardised information models t a standardised information modelling language t a standardised exchange file format t a standardised API for product data t a CASE environment for product data applications t a design methodology for data exchange and data sharing standards t a product model framework Most STEP Application Protocols Many STEP Application Protocols PDM Schema Generic Resources Application Resources Application Protocols EXPRESS ISO 10303-21 SDAI Language Bindings for C, C++, CORBA IDL Java Data Exchange Data Sharing Implementation Framework Application Structure Integrated Resources Application Protocols Generic ResourcesApplication Resources Application Interpreted Model Application Reference Model product product_ definition_ formation product_ definition of_product formation property_ definition product_ definition_ shape shape_ representation shape_ definition_ representation property_ defnition_ representation definitionused_ representation representation_ of representation_ model product_definition_ schema (P41) product_property_ definition_schema (P41) representation_ schema (P43) product_property_representation_schema (P41)

5.  Eurostep 2000 Problems with STEP l Lack of AP interoperability l Lack of interoperability with other standards t from ISO TC184/SC4 t and beyond l Lack of model re-usability t modularity t genericity t resource requirements l Lack of connectivity with mainstream technology standards, e. g. t CORBA t UML t XML l Lack of behaviour

6.  Eurostep 2000 Directions for STEP l STEP Modularization l SC4 Data Architecture l SC4 Framework l SGML and Industrial Data l XML Representation of EXPRESS Driven Data l EXPRESS-X l EXPRESS-2 l EXPRESS / UML Interoperability

7.  Eurostep 2000 STEP Modularization l What is it all about? t Breaking STEP into small re-usable modules while preserving its basic architecture èRe-usability Training, standardisation, implementation, application integration, data èArchitecture Integrated Resources, ARMs, AIMs Integrated ARMs t Plug and play APs l Positive impact on: t AP interoperability t Model re-usability Directions for STEP

8.  Eurostep 2000 SC4 Data Architecture l What is it all about? t Development of a generic data integration architecture èRe-Usability èExtensibility èModularity l Positive impact on: t AP interoperability t Interoperability with other standards t Model re-usability Directions for STEP

9.  Eurostep 2000 SC4 Framework l What is it all about? t Development of a classification system for model components èstandardised or not èto avoid duplication of efforts èto enable re-use l Positive impact on: t AP interoperability t Interoperability with other standards t Model re-usability Directions for STEP

10.  Eurostep 2000 SGML and Industrial Data l What is it all about? t Evaluation of potential synergy between ISO’s most important data standard families èSGML èHyTime èDSSSL t Access to product data from documentation environments l Positive impact on: t Interoperability with other standards t Model re-usability t Connectivity with mainstream technology standards Directions for STEP

11.  Eurostep 2000 XML Representation of EXPRESS Driven Data l What is it all about? t Development of an XML-based exchange file format for STEP èEarly binding èLate binding t First deliverable of “SGML and Industrial Data” l Positive impact on: t Interoperability with other standards t Model re-usability t Connectivity with mainstream technology standards Directions for STEP

12.  Eurostep 2000 EXPRESS-X l What is it all about? t Development of a language to specify executable, instance level mappings between EXPRESS schemas èTranslator specification èAP Mapping Table èApplication Views l Positive impact on: t AP interoperability t Interoperability with other standards t Model re-usability Directions for STEP

13.  Eurostep 2000 EXPRESS-2 l What is it all about? t Extension of the language capabilities with regard to èImproved support of modular models èObject-Orientation (behaviour) èSystems modelling (behaviour) l Positive impact on: t Model re-usability t Connectivity with mainstream technology standards t Behaviour Directions for STEP

14.  Eurostep 2000 EXPRESS / UML Interoperability l What is it all about? t Developing the base technology required switch back and forth between both languages èProject (phase) requirements (data vs behaviour) èAvailability of skills t Taking into account the overlap between the data modelling capabilities of both languages as identified by ISO TC211 with regard to structure and semantics l Positive impact on: t Interoperability with other standards t Model re-usability t Connectivity with mainstream technology standards t Behaviour Directions for STEP

15.  Eurostep 2000 Questions and Answers l Don’t forget: t Questions are never stupid t Answers can be