Managing long transactions in model server based collaboration

摘要

We propose a novel approach for project collaboration based on product data technology, the C/S paradigm and the concept of long transactions. It provides an open server-based solution that can tackle problems caused by the heterogeneity of ICT environments in AEC and does not presume neither require tightly integrated application systems. The essence of the suggested approach is in the coherent use of a set of generic services supporting the sequence of well-identified data modification processes. These services comprise partial model extraction, model mapping, model matching (including model comparison and model reintegration) and model merging. In this paper we focus specifically on problems related to the reintegration of changed model subsets. We show on theoretical level why generic model comparison cannot fully guarantee error-free results for the reintegration of changed model data and discuss the use of model subsets and their impact on project data sharing. At the end we describe envisaged possibilities to apply the developed concepts to the IFC project model and give a critical discussion for its application in AEC practice.