Formgraphics: A Form-Based Graphics Architecture Providing a Database Workbench

Abstract

The authors have designed and implemented a form-based engineering document management system on the basis of an architecture named Formgraphics. The system has full 2-D graphics capabilities that comply with the requirements for highly structured graphics applications. In this sense, the system is typical of new generation graphics facilities. The system's architecture is explained as an instance of a form-based graphics database workbench, its features and function layers are described, and a typical application in software engineering is presented. The system's 3-D graphics processing scheme is also explained, and its applicability to such fields as mechanical and architectural engineering is demonstrated.