beegee
2004-04-30, 05:34 AM
A recent AECbytes article (www.aecbytes.com/newsletter/issue_8.htm) discussed web services and painted the following scenario ...
In a fully Web Services based AEC world, we would have no applications locally installed on our machines. Instead, we would be running all the applications we needed over the Web, and they would communicate freely with each other. Imagine this scenario. At the conceptual design stage, an architect "rents" the use of three Web-based applications from different vendors: a sketching tool, a space analysis tool, and a photo realistic visualisation tool. As the architect develops the design concept in the sketching tool, the space analysis tool simultaneously shows space areas and distances in detail, by communicating directly with the sketching tool via Web Services. The architect can also immediately see a photo realistic rendering of the design concept in the third tool. At any time, the architect can call up other tools to collaborate on different aspects of the design, such as an energy analysis tool, a code checking tool, an animation tool, and so on, all by different vendors. There is no upfront cost in purchasing specific tools and dealing with all the installation and updating headaches; instead, applications can be paid for and deployed on an "as-needed" basis, allowing AEC professionals access to a much broader network of technical resources than is possible today.
Well, we can do most of that already ( sketching and visual analysis and photo realistic rendering and animation and production drawings) with our favourite software and without the problem of security, reliability or technical issues. We also aren't too far away from interacting with energy analysis , code checking and auto-specification software, not to mention structural and HVAC programmes.
Forget web services, just get Revit :wink:
In a fully Web Services based AEC world, we would have no applications locally installed on our machines. Instead, we would be running all the applications we needed over the Web, and they would communicate freely with each other. Imagine this scenario. At the conceptual design stage, an architect "rents" the use of three Web-based applications from different vendors: a sketching tool, a space analysis tool, and a photo realistic visualisation tool. As the architect develops the design concept in the sketching tool, the space analysis tool simultaneously shows space areas and distances in detail, by communicating directly with the sketching tool via Web Services. The architect can also immediately see a photo realistic rendering of the design concept in the third tool. At any time, the architect can call up other tools to collaborate on different aspects of the design, such as an energy analysis tool, a code checking tool, an animation tool, and so on, all by different vendors. There is no upfront cost in purchasing specific tools and dealing with all the installation and updating headaches; instead, applications can be paid for and deployed on an "as-needed" basis, allowing AEC professionals access to a much broader network of technical resources than is possible today.
Well, we can do most of that already ( sketching and visual analysis and photo realistic rendering and animation and production drawings) with our favourite software and without the problem of security, reliability or technical issues. We also aren't too far away from interacting with energy analysis , code checking and auto-specification software, not to mention structural and HVAC programmes.
Forget web services, just get Revit :wink: