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CumInCAD is a Cumulative Index about publications in Computer Aided Architectural Design
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_id	6683
authors	Rasdorf, William J. and Wang, TsoJen E.
year	1987
title	Spike : A Generic Design Standards Processing Expert System
source	Southampton, UK: Computational Mechanics Publications, pp. 241-257. Also published in : Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Engineering International Conference Proceedings (2nd. : 1987 : Boston, MA.)
summary	Standards, codes, and specifications play an important role in the design of buildings, bridges, and other engineering systems. A design configuration must be checked against all standards to ensure that it is acceptable. This process of design conformance checking using standards is often very tedious. The successful automation of conformance checking is one of the components of a comprehensive computer-aided design system. In that past, standards were interpreted and converted into application programs written in procedural programming languages such as FORTRAN. This approach is extremely inflexible and often error-prone. To support a fully automated computer-aided design system, standards must be incorporated into the design process in a more generic and flexible manner. This paper investigates the feasibility of alternatively casting standards in a form suitable for processing in a knowledge-based expert system environment. The emergence of expert systems from artificial intelligence research has provided a technology that readily lends itself to the automation of design standards. Knowledge-based expert systems have become a powerful tool in tackling domains like design where some of the problem-solving knowledge is diverse and ill-structured. Using an expert system tool, a standard can be represented and processed independent of a CAD application program. Two prototype standards processing systems utilizing the production system approach have been constructed and are presented herein. Although the obvious direct translation casting the provisions of a standard as rules in a production system has its advantages, a more generic and flexible representation scheme is proposed herein. The approach advocated in this paper is to represent standards as databases of facts which can be readily and generically processed by an expert system. The database representation is derived from a unified view of standards obtained by using the standards modeling tools proposed by previous researchers in this field during the past decade. Building on this existing technology resulted in a knowledge- based standards processing architecture which is generic, modular, and flexible. An implementation of this architecture is presented and described
keywords	standards, civil engineering, expert systems
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	66e5
authors	Rasdorf, William J. and Wang, TsoJen E.
year	1987
title	Generic Design Standards Processing in a Knowledge-based expert system Environment
source	Design Process, National Science Foundation Workshop Proceedings. 1987. pp. 267-291. CADLINE has abstract only
summary	Standards, codes, and specifications play an important role in the design of buildings, bridges, and other engineering systems. A design configuration must be checked against all standards to ensure that it is acceptable. This process of design conformance checking using standards is often very tedious. The successful automation of conformance checking is one of the components of a comprehensive computer-aided design system. In the past, standards were interpreted and converted into application program written in procedural programming languages such as FORTRAN. This approach is extremely inflexible and often error prone. To support a fully automated computer-aided design system, standards must be incorporated into the design process in a more generic and flexible manner. This paper investigates the feasibility of alternatively casting standards in a form suitable for processing in a knowledge-based expert system environment. The emergence of expert systems from artificial intelligence research has provided a technology that readily lends itself to the automation of design standards. Knowledge-based expert systems have become a powerful tool in tackling domains like design where some of the problem-solving knowledge is diverse and ill-structured. Using an expert system tool, a standard can be represented and processed independent of a CAD application program. Two prototype standards processing systems utilizing the production system approach have been constructed and are presented herein. Although the obvious direct translation casting the provisions of a standard as rules in a production system has its advantages, a more generic and flexible representation scheme is proposed herein. The approach advocated in this paper is to represent standards as databases of facts which can be readily and generically processed by an expert system. The database representation is derived from a unified view of standards obtained by using the standards modeling tools proposed by previous researchers in this field during the past decade. Building on this existing technology resulted in a knowledge- based standards processing architecture which is generic, modular, and flexible. An implementation of this architecture is presented and described
keywords	knowledge base, standards, expert systems, civil engineering
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	4910
authors	Rasdorf, William J. and Watson, Bruce R.
year	1987
title	A Knowledge-Based Approach to Engineering Information Retrieval and Management
source	London, UK: Chapman and Hall Ltd., 1987. pp. 267-295
summary	Building design, construction, operation, maintenance, and control are all processes that have achieved various levels of computer use. Although the degree of computerization varies significantly, one common aspect of the computing needs of each process is an abundance of data in the form of tables, standards, project definition information, catalogs, etc. In most cases this data is stored in files which are independently used for input to stand-alone single-process application programs, such as a structural analysis application. The utility of these independent files is therefore limited to a single application. As concepts of integration of engineering applications evolved, the use of databases and database management systems (DBMS) increased. A number of issues of significant concern emerged. First, there is a need to retrieve data from many independent, possibly widely distributed databases. Second, there is a need for a uniform means of doing so. Third, such databases routinely undergo dynamic change. Changes in a database schema commonly result from the evolution of a design, from changes in the design process itself, and from changes in other subsequent downstream processes. Such continuing changes must be reflected in the database schemas and they subsequently require that application programs be updated and that online users be educated on a continuing basis. This chapter describes a knowledge-based expert system that provides access to and integration of the many underlying databases needed to support the building design/construction process. The unique aspect of the expert system presented in this chapter is its capture of the knowledge that an experienced human user incorporates in his search for data in a database, i.e., it seeks to identify and use the generic knowledge needed to operate a DBMS to retrieve data. This knowledge is used by the interface to enable both the online users and the application programs to request data without knowing the data's location or precisely how to ask for it. Further, the interface makes use of mechanisms that allow the user to request data without knowing the exact name by which it is stored in the database. In doing so it formalizes the levels of complexity of that knowledge and points out the multidisciplinary applications of the research results
keywords	civil engineering, knowledge base, database, expert systems
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 10:24

_id	sigradi2013_234
id	sigradi2013_234
authors	Alencar, Viviane; Gabriela Celani
year	2013
title	The Art of Computer Graphics Programming: Translating Pioneer Programs
source	SIGraDi 2013 [Proceedings of the 17th Conference of the Iberoamerican Society of Digital Graphics - ISBN: 978-956-7051-86-1] Chile - Valparaíso 20 - 22 November 2013, pp. 500 - 504
summary	Considering the importance of the use of programming languages for teaching computational design to architects, this paper proposes the translation of computer programs from a pioneer work in this field into a more contemporary programming language. The book The Art of Computer Graphics Programming: A Structured Introduction for Architects and Designers was published in 1987 by William J. Mitchell, Robin Ligget and Thomas Kvan, and remains an important reference for architects. The original Pascal codes in the book were translated into Processing, and made available through an Internet website, along with images and comments, in order to give late Prof. Mitchell’s work the consideration it deserves.
keywords	Processing; Pascal; Computer graphics
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:47

_id	caadria2011_061
id	caadria2011_061
authors	Celani, Gabriela; José P. Duarte and Carlos V. Vaz
year	2011
title	The gardens revisited: The link between technology, meaning and logic?
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.2011.643
source	Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia / The University of Newcastle, Australia 27-29 April 2011, pp. 643-652
summary	The objective of this paper is to compare the computational concepts present in three books published by Mitchell between 1987 and 1990: The art of computer-graphics programming (1987), which has Robin Liggett and Thomas Kvan as co-authors, The logic of architecture (1990), probably his most influential work, and The poetics of gardens (1988), which has Charles Moore and William Turnbull as coauthors. By looking at the concepts that are presented in the three books and establishing a comparison between them, we expect to show that The poetics of Gardens should not be seen as a detour from Mitchell´s line of research, but rather as a key piece for understanding the relationship between technology, meaning and logic in his very coherent body of work.
keywords	Computational design concepts; technology; meaning; logic
series	CAADRIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	8385
authors	Holtz, Neal M. and Rasdorf, William J.
year	1988
title	An Evaluation of Programming Languages and Language Features for Engineering Software Development
source	International Journal of Engineering with Computers. Springer-Verlag, 1988. vol. 3: pp. 183-199
summary	Also published as 'Procedural Programming Languages for the Development of CAD and CAE Systems Software,' in the proceedings of ASME International Conference on Computers in Engineering (1987 : New York, NY). The scope of engineering software has increased dramatically in the past decade. In its early years, most engineering applications were concerned solely with solving difficult numerical problems, and little attention was paid to man- machine interaction, to data management, or to integrated software systems. Now computers solve a much wider variety of problems, including those in which numerical computations are less predominant. In addition, completely new areas of engineering applications such as artificial intelligence have recently emerged. It is well recognized that the particular programming language used to develop an engineering application can dramatically affect the development cost, operating cost. reliability, and usability of the resulting software. With the increase in the variety, functionality, and complexity of engineering software, with its more widespread use, and with its increasing importance, more attention must be paid to programming language suitability so that rational decisions regarding language selection may be made. It is important that professional engineers be aware of the issues addressed in this paper, for it is they who must design, acquire, and use applications software, as well as occasionally develop or manage its development. This paper addresses the need for engineers to possess a working knowledge of the fundamentals of computer programming languages. In pursuit of this, the paper briefly reviews the history of four well known programming languages. It then attempts to identify and to look critically at the attributes of programming languages that significantly affect the production of engineering software. The four procedural programming languages chosen for review are those intended for scientific and general purpose programming, FORTRAN 77, C, Pascal, and Modula-2. These languages are compared and some general observations are made. As it is felt important that professional engineers should be able to make informed decisions about programming language selection, the emphasis throughout this paper is on a methodology of evaluation of programming languages. Choosing an appropriate language can be a complex task and many factors must be considered. Consequently, fundamentals are stressed
keywords	programming, engineering, languages, software, management, evaluation, FORTRAN, C, PASCAL, MODULA-2, CAD, CAE
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	27e8
authors	Rasdorf, William J. and High, Stacey L.
year	1987
title	Simplified Steel Compression Member Design
source	Dynamics of Structures ASCE Structures Congress Proceedings. 1987. American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. D: pp. 352-367. CADLINE has abstract only
summary	The American Institute of Steel Construction 'Specification for the Design, Fabrication, and Erection of Structural Steel Buildings' has made manual steel column design exceedingly time consuming and difficult. The objective of this paper is to present a simplified method of designing steel columns subjected to axial loads and moments for use in situations where automated design methods are inappropriate. Steel column design is based on the interaction equations of the AISC Specification. These equations are presented in terms of actual and allowable stresses and much time is required by a designer to manually determine the stresses and solve the equations. To simplify their solution, the interaction equations were reformulated and a set of parameters (multipliers) was introduced into them. The parameters were investigated to determine their validity, limits, and ranges of significant influence. They were then tabulated to provide quick and easy access for use. The modified interaction equations and the tabulated parameters constitute the results of this study. They are the physical tools that enable a designer to rapidly select initial steel column sections to satisfy design requirements and specification constraints. The analysis confirms that these tools can realistically and accurately be determined. The equations were algebraically derived and the tables were generated as a function of the properties of the sections. Thus, a new design method, combining the use of tabulated parameters with algebraically modified interaction equations, has been developed. This method greatly simplifies and speeds up the column section selection process
keywords	civil engineering, structures, synthesis, design, methods
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	8a38
authors	Rasdorf, William J. and Parks, Linda M.
year	1987
title	Natural Language Prototypes for Analyzing Design Standards
source	Southampton, U.K: Computational Mechanics Publications, 1987. pp. 147-160
summary	CADLINE has abstract only. This paper addresses the use of natural language processing for acquiring, processing, and representing knowledge from design standards. A standard is a set of provisions providing principles, models, rules, limits, and particulars that are established by some authority for some purpose. In their textual form as written documents, design standards cannot directly be used in computer-aided design (CAD) systems. This paper demonstrates how standards can be transformed, using natural language processing techniques, from their textual form to alternative representations that more readily lend themselves to use in computer-aided design systems, supporting a variety of design applications. The language being transformed is the Building Officials and Code Administrators Building Code, one set of requirements that govern the design of buildings. Prototype computer subsystems have been developed that transform natural language sentences to case-grammar format and finally to subject-relationship- object triplets. The three prototypes that achieve these transformations are described: a parser, a semantic analyzer, and a query system. During one processing cycle, the system identifies that data items in a provision and the relationships between the data items. It also interacts with the user to add new data items to its knowledge bases, to verify data items found, and to add to its vocabulary. Alternatively, it responds to natural-language questions about the contents of the standard by identifying the relevant provisions within the standards. Processing formal documents requires knowledge about vocabulary, word-order, time, semantics, reference, and discourse. Despite the relative clarity of formal writing as it occurs in standards, the difficulties of implied responsibility, multiple meanings, and implied data items remain. A long-term research program at North Carolina State University has been defined that builds on these prototypes to further investigate knowledge acquisition and representation for standards
keywords	design, standards, analysis, AI, natural languages
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	a18d
authors	Rasdorf, William J. and Storaasli, Olaf O.
year	1987
title	Educational Fundamentals of Computer-Aided Engineering
source	International Journal of Applied Engineering Education. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1987. vol. 3: pp. 247-254
summary	The role of computer science is increasing in nearly every engineering discipline. One of the dilemmas in engineering education today is how future engineers can best assimilate the advanced, yet fundamental, knowledge of computer science appropriate for their professional engineering career. This paper suggests that the role of the academic community must be to prepare engineering students to use computer methods and applications as a part of their fundamental engineering education. It is the responsibility of colleges and universities to incorporate contemporary computing fundamentals into their academic curriculum to improve the professional qualifications of their engineering graduates. This paper discusses current educational practices and their shortcomings as well as new options to reinforce and enhance the role of computing in engineering. The key ingredients, operating system fundamentals, data structures, program control and organization, algorithms, and computer architectures (relative to concurrent processing) are discussed. The paper suggests that to convey the essentials of computer science to future engineers requires in part, the addition of computer courses to the engineering curriculum. It also requires a strengthening of the computational content of many others so that the student comes to treat the computer as a fundamental component of his work. Indeed this is a major undertaking but the benefits of advanced computer knowledge by new engineering graduates promises to provide significant future innovations in the engineering profession. The proper tradeoff between engineering fundamentals and computer science is changing with many of the concepts of engineering now being packaged in algorithms or on computer chips. The impact of advances in computer technology on engineering education are therefore discussed. Several of the benefits of enhanced computational expertise by engineers are enumerated and case studies of recent NASA initiatives whose success required that engineers possess an in-depth knowledge of computer science are presented
keywords	CAE, civil engineering, education
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 10:24

_id	8331
authors	Rasdorf, William J., Ulberg, Karen J. and Baugh, John W. Jr.
year	1987
title	A Structure-Based Model of Semantic Integrity Constraints for Relational Databases
source	International Journal of Engineering with Computers. Springer-Verlag, Spring, 1987. vol. 2: pp. 31- 39
summary	Database management systems (DBMSs) are in widespread use because of the ease and flexibility with which they enable users to access large volumes of data. The use of DBMSs has spread from its origin in business applications to scientific and engineering applications as well. As engineers rely more and more on the computer for data storage, our ability to manually keep track of relationships between data and to ensure data accuracy is severely limited. The inherent fluctuations in engineering design data as well as its large volume, increase the difficulty of doing so. Ensuring data accuracy through the use of integrity constraints which limit or constrain the values of the data is a central aspect of DBMS use. Enforcing constraints (to the extend possible) is a job for the DBMS. This alleviates some of the burden placed on the user and database administrator to maintain the integrity of the database. In addition, it enables integrity constraints to be conceptually centralized and made available for inspection and modification instead of being scattered among application programs. Despite their importance, however, capabilities for handling integrity constraints in commercial DBMSs are limited and they lack adequate integrity maintenance support. In addition, a comprehensive theoretical basis for such support-the role of a constraint classification, representation, invocation, and use methodology-has yet to be developed. This paper presents a formalism that classifies semantic integrity constraints based on the structure of the relational database model. Integrity constraints are characterized by the portion of the database structure they access, whether one or more relations, attributes, or tuples. Thus, the model is completely general, allowing the identification, definition, and arbitrary specification of any constraint on a relational database. It also provides a basis for the implementation of a database integrity subsystem. Examples of each type of constraint are illustrated using a small engineering database, and various implementation issues are discussed
keywords	civil engineering, relational database, constraints management
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	ee8f
authors	Rasdorf, William J.
year	1987
title	Extending Database Management Systems for Engineering Applications
source	Computers in Mechanical Engineering (CIME). American Society of Mechanical Engineers, March, 1987. vol. 5: pp. 62-69
summary	During the design of a manufactured component, large amounts of information pertaining to all aspects of the design must be stored, accessed, and operated upon. A database management system (DBMS), composed of a central repository of data and the associated software for controlling accesses to it and operations on it, provides one way to uniformly store, manage, and use this information. This paper presents a framework for an extension to relational database management systems that combines a set of engineering constraints with a database of engineering data items. The representation requires a database that is able to store all of the data normally associated with engineering design as well as the constraints imposed upon the engineering design process. A powerful and flexible constraint processing system is needed to adequately ensure that engineering data conforms to the limitations imposed upon it by the design process. Such a system must be capable of allowing constraints to be invoked at a variety of times, and provide numerous options for the user when violations are detected. This paper introduces a concept called structured constraints that integrates state- of-the-art advances in DBMSs and current research in engineering constraint processing to further enhance CAD system capabilities. It discusses the extensions to relational database theory that are needed to achieve such a constraint handling capability for mechanical engineering applications. The goal sought is a managed repository of data supporting interfaces to a wide variety of application programs and supporting processing capabilities for maintaining data integrity by incorporating engineering constraints. The Structured Constraint model is a general method for classifying semantic integrity constraints. It is based on the structure of the relational model and is therefore independent of any particular query language. In addition, it is a formalism that possesses conceptual clarity and generality which make it useful for representing and communicating arbitrary constraints. The key contribution of this formalism is its basis for a completely definable implementation of an engineering integrity system
keywords	civil engineering, relational database, constraints management, management, DBMS
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 10:24

_id	60f6
authors	Shapiro, Stuart C. and Rapaport, William J.
year	1987
title	Knowledge Representation for Natural Language Processing
source	September, 1987. pp. 56-77. includes bibliography
summary	In this paper the authors extend, deepen, and clarify their theory of intentional knowledge representation for natural- language processing, as presented in previous papers and in light of objections raised by others. The essential claim is that tokens in a knowledge-representation system represent only intentions and not extensions. The authors pursue this investigation by building CASSIE, a computer model of a cognitive agent and, to the extent she works, a cognitive agent herself. CASSIE's mind is implemented in the SNePS propositional semantic-network processing system
keywords	This paper explicates the relations among nodes, mental tokens,
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

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