There is an alternative to the IFC format specialists in the construction industry may know that in addition to the popular IFC, RVT, DWG formats, we can use in our work those formats that are convenient for us, not those promoted by hashtag#CAD vendors.
📉 The decision of buildingSMART to follow the concept of semantic web, which at one time seemed promising and popular in the late 90's, has affected the whole construction industry. However, the paradox is that the semantic web concept itself, originally proposed for the Internet (RDF - Resource Description Framework and OWL - Web Ontology Language), has not been widely used even in its native environment. On the Internet, for which RDF and OWL were developed, these concepts are hardly used today. History shows that the full-fledged semantic web in the original architecture never appeared, and its creation may not be expected.
🔒 Supporting IFC in software requires developing an ideal IFC CAD within existing solutions, complete with its own geometry core. Currently, only major CAD vendors can fully implement IFC ontology due to the significant resources needed. IFC specifications allow multiple interpretations, leading to different results when the same data is processed by different programs, complicating standardization.
🚀 I recommend the Open Source community focus on creating new geometry engines and online tools instead of attempting to “revitalize” IFC. We are on the brink of a growth phase similar to the 2D design surge two decades ago. Popular formats—OBJ, gLTF, DAE, FBX, USD—are sufficient, eliminating the need for new formats. Property data can be transferred via CSV, XLSX, SQL, HDF5, DB to XML, JSON, YAML. There’s no need for new formats when other industries effectively use existing geometric and meta-information formats.
My example of a geometry editor from 2022, based on the NoteCAD engine (from the developer of OpenCascade) - a lightweight geometry solver with a UI similar to the free SketchUp, but completely open source and without restrictions and running in Unity or online: https://github.com/BimCad-online/BimCADOnline
🏰 Promoting IFC currently benefits only companies capable of handling complex geometry cores. Tools should be simpler and more accessible, avoiding intricate geometry kernels and expensive SDKs. Instead, refine existing tools like SolveSpace, Web-CAD.org, NoteCAD, CSG editors, or leverage platforms like Unity to build comprehensive solutions.
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