B5 - Databases in Construction - Eduardo Borja

            Computerized databases started in 1960’s. This happened when the computers became more cost effective options for different firms and organisations. Databases in general have great benefits for companies. Databases are essential in reducing the amount of time spent managing data. Data management can be tedious and mundane and if there is a large amount of data to handle, the time spent processing could be excessive. One interesting example of a database that was basically one of the first commercial successes was SABRE. SABRE was a system that was used by IBM in order to help American Airlines to manage its reservations.

            Specifically related to construction firms, databases can provide a particularly easy way to contact customers, suppliers, even employees. For example, something that could seem meaningless, such as being able to pull up an email address, could actually be as easy as typing a name. The ability to find information easily creates an effective and productive work force. Organisation in a database i believe is crucial as well. Making an element easy to find should be a goal of any creation of a database, but if the database is not organised then the database loses its purpose.

            Another example of how critical databases are in a construction firm relate to estimating. Estimating could be extremely tedious if you would have to input the data for each element of a structure. In this case, databases allow keeping records of a variety of properties of elements. Also, in construction firms, cost and scheduling is greatly affected by the use of databases. Also, databases can extremely facilitate the life of an engineer. This is due to the fact that in a database one can input many different trade information that could certainly prove to be useful when estimating a project. One example of a typical database used in industry is RSMeans. RSMeans is used when estimating the price per square foot of a structure. This database provides data for both renovation projects and new buildings and has costs for over 900 cities in the US and Canada. Construction firms could also establish a database for all of the past projects they have taken. This could be quite beneficial because the firm could reference any project that could actually help with a current bid or estimate.

1. http://www.rsmeans.com/
2. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140724234418-100956650-coming-soon-construction-databases-why-use-a-database
3. http://pmbook.ce.cmu.edu/14_Organization_and_Use_of_Project_Information.html

Comments:

Mohammed Alqallaf: Mohammed, i particularly enjoyed reading through your post. I enjoyed the fact that you discussed how databases have evolved through time and how computers/clouds have helped with this evolution. I completely agree, and also i must add that organisation must be key with databases. Dealing with such a large amount of elements in a database must have a certain degree of organization. Also, i agree with the fact that the databases must be updated regularly. For example, if RSMeans does not update regularly the cost estimate of a construction firm could not be competitive.

Kuzniarowicz: I enjoyed reading your post because i also did some research on RSMeans. This is certainly a great database and its uses are quite extensive. The last point you touch on in your post is really interesting and i believe it is a future of many companies with their products as well as a future of BIM. I believe many companies will develop a database and have the ability to import their products into a BIM software in order to make the designers life much easier with regards to cost and scheduling.

B5 - Group B - Hatim Amiji

SQL stands for Structured Query Language, is a special purpose programming language designed for managing data held in a relational database management system (RDBMS). It is used to create, modify, and retrieve and manipulate data from relational database management systems. In SQL, tables and query results are lists of rows: the same row may occur multiple times, and the order of rows can be employed in queries.  SQL is used by most large scale databases to facilitate user and administrator interactions.  Many computer programs need to store and retrieve data.  Instead of implementing their own system of storing and retrieving the data, SQL systems can be used.

SQL works similarly to how an excel spreadsheet is set up; it looks at data in terms of tables.  Within these tables, SQL allows the user to place data, read data, change data, and remove data from these tables. SQL is a natural language for data analysis i.e. the concept of SQL is underpinned by the relational algebra therefore creating a consistent network for organizing and manipulating sets of data. SQL is a productive language for writing queries i.e. SQL engines have multiple ways to execute a query, but the developer does not need to understand any of the underlying database processing techniques. The developer simply specifies the desired set of data using projections (SELECT) and filters (WHERE). SQL engine has a lot of flexibility in how to optimize any given query hence shields the developer from the complexities of the underlying query techniques. In general, SQL provides a robust framework that adapts to new database management requirements.

Overall, SQL is important because it is the most popular language for defining relational database models, which have been the standard in the data industry for roughly the past four decades. Relational databases, as opposed to hierarchical databases, are composed of tables for which the creator explicitly defines the links or relationships. For hierarchical databases, every segment is already implicitly defined in a hierarchical path. The main advantage of relational databases is that they do not limit the user to a strict hierarchy of data and allow the programmer more liberty in regards to defining how the information is joined. As a result, they are more desirable in instances that demand flexible data structures. It is also relatively simple to edit and manipulate those structures.

Citations:

1. http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Is-SQL-and-Why-It-Is-Important?&id=6909544

2. http://www.thesitewizard.com/faqs/what-is-mysql-database.shtml

Comments:

Mohammed,

Your article was an interesting read. Seems like I underestimated the use of databases in the construction industry and its importance. Database can play an important role in the BIM world i.e. contractors, architects and engineering are working on the same model hence sharing big data in one platform thus the creation of databases can improve data organization and accessibility in order to ensure smooth/efficient workflow.

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/02/b5-mohammed-alqallaf-group-e.html?showComment=1455058585410#c7466918960644081852

Cathlene,

I have never worked with SQL before but by reading your blog, I can imagine how such programming language can be used to obtain specific family sets from a big REVIT family database. Also creation of new family sets can be organized and manipulated to ease of use during extraction by other parties such as contractors, architects and structural engineers who are working on the same platform.

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/02/b5-sql-farnelli.html?showComment=1455059530903#c56486159632581299

B5: Group D – Kate Flint

Uses of databases in design offices

Databases are useful tools to any company or organization who deals with data. But that is not exclusive to tech companies. Almost all companies have customers and the more data that can be collected about them the better. Knowing your customers allows companies to understand how to better serve them, increasing customer satisfaction and company profits. Design offices in particular work with a large amount of data about buildings and their users. As with any company it it useful to have the most efficient work flow possible. Databases can also be incredibly useful in keeping track of employee information by the human resources department. Databases can be useful for sharing large amounts of data between multiple users, but now there are so many different database options to choose from.

Databases make it easier to manipulate data but in turn make it more complex overall. This puts significantly more amounts of strain on a company's IT department. A company must decide if the pros outweigh the cons in this situation.

An Evernote article profiles an online database startup and explains where the future of the database is headed. Orchestrate.io has pieced together the most useful components from other large database stores to create the foundation for their own super program.  Overall, they have sacrificed customization for use-friendly simplicity. And the company is realistic about their industry. Technology must become more compatible and able to interface with other, similar programs. Orchestrate.io automatically backs up the data to Amazon S3 in case a user wants to later change database providers. To me this seems like a good business practice. It is important to be realistic, and your customers will recognize and appreciate that.

Resources:

https://www.evernote.com/pub/view/aengineer/ae-510/93e26d2a-0a80-455d-844f-601ee408c083?locale=en#st=p&n=93e26d2a-0a80-455d-844f-601ee408c083

Bridget,
We both wrote about databases in design offices and I really like how you started your post with a simple definition of what a database is. I also like how you connected it specifically to BIM and the Revit project from class. Something that can be especially useful that I has not considered is a physical database, such as the one created by Material ConneXion. Architects obviously have a specific appearance in mind when designing a building and it would be incredibly useful to be able to compare different materials in person. As I also stated above, one of the main purposes of a database is to streamline building practices so designer's and builder's time can be better spent elsewhere.

Gary,
You did a great job at explaining the technical definitions involved with creating databases. This knowledge will be especially helpful for our future assignment of building our own databases. I think it is especially important for new database user to understand that there is a logic model behind the physical data they are using or manipulating. 
Overall you gave a lot of great detail and information. On a way to improve, it would be helpful to the reader to add in specific examples of these topics that they may encounter in their everyday lives.

B5 - Group C - Sean Coffey - Object Oriented Databases

Object Oriented Databases

Before researching object oriented databases, I did not know what object oriented databases were and was not aware how they were extensively used for to enable BIM software. Object oriented databases simply put are databases made up of complex objects that are defined by simple data and algorithm attributes. These attributes can be edited and modified manually and automatically.

Differences from Other Databases

Object oriented databases are unlike traditional databases in some important ways. They contain simple and complex attributes while more traditional databases like relational databases only contain simple data. The simpler databases store data in tables that are often reference other tables to return useful information.

Advantages & Disadvantages

Object oriented databases have their advantages and disadvantages over other less complex and traditional databases. Some of the advantages include their programmability to act more intelligently and automatically than other databases. This is accomplished with the embed code and algorithms. This code and how the database interacts with other databases makes object oriented databases more complex and due to the increased complexity they are harder to maintain and edit. On the other hand, if object oriented databases are setup properly they require less maintenance, while more traditional databases require regular maintenance. Also object oriented databases are work better when implemented to communicate and interact with other databases.

BIM’s Use of Object Oriented Databases

One of the best ways to use object oriented databases is when programing CAD and BIM software. Autodesk leverages the advantages of object oriented databases to make the intelligent programs such as Revit. Object oriented databases are fundamental to how Revit acts parametrically. An example of how this database type is implemented in Revit is to create families that are intelligent and modifiable. Revit families are defined by simple and complex properties or attributes. Example simple attributes are the dimensions of a door. They can be quickly and easily modified by user to customize the door to match the actual door that will be installed into the real life building. While a complex attribute would be how the door interacts while placing the door on walls with different widths. The frame for the door has to have an intelligent algorithm that determines how the door will automatically modify its width to match the wall width. The use of object oriented databases makes Revit seemingly simple, work intelligently and nearly flawlessly.

References

http://www.archdaily.com/302490/a-brief-history-of-bim

http://www.comptechdoc.org/independent/database/basicdb/dataobject.html

Comments

Mohammed Alqallaf
http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/02/b5-mohammed-alqallaf-group-e.html

Bridget Frasca
http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/02/b5-group-d-frasca-uses-of-databases-in.html?showComment=1455059965158#c2225312694583606569

B5 - Mohammed Alqallaf - Group E

            Database systems play an important role for every part of the building design/construction industry. Databases have made it easier for designers and engineers to have easy access to information that would help with multiple processes such as cost estimation, energy modelling, and etc. Specifically databases have helped construction firms with cost estimation and lifecycle analysis. There have been many developments such as estimating software and computer cost databases that evolved over the years.

                Databases in the past have been very hard to keep updated due to the large amounts of information that had to be updated very often. Nowadays computers are connected to a larger cloud of data/online database. Online databases are automatically and universally updated when their source is changed. For example cost estimating software would have data for multiple construction materials and equipment, when price rates change the database automatically changes and updates universally. This makes it a lot easier for construction firms to access and use the up to date database. Also, this increases the accuracy and quality of the estimation. [1]

                Construction firms nowadays are progressively utilizing cloud collaboration. For example “Basetone is a system that allows remote sharing of data on a construction site in real time.” The tool is used by architects and mostly construction engineers to review drawings and process on construction projects. The software allows for easier collaboration and the detailed process of installation of everything from steel beams to light fittings. The software also helps pin point issues that happen during construction, so that engineers would have easier access to that information and get to solve the issue as soon as possible. The digitized drawings also help save money for construction engineers because they wouldn’t have to print out paper plans. [2]

                Another advancement in database use in construction firms is the use of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Almost everyone nowadays has a smart phone. Smart phones are very powerful and have a very large capacity to do a lot of work. Drawings made on software such as AutoCad, Revit, and Sketchup which are used in the construction industry can be viewed on the smartphone and some also edited on the cellphone. With LTE internet connection the model is always updated through the cloud database making it a lot easier for the construction crew to coordinate with updates and look at changes as soon as possible. [3]

               

[1] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140724234418-100956650-coming-soon-construction-databases-why-use-a-database

[2] http://raconteur.net/business/top-ten-construction-innovations

[3] https://www.augi.com/library/whats-new-technology-advancements-in-the-aec-o-industry

               

Maria,

I really enjoyed reading your article. It was very informative. I completely agree with your view point towards databases. I feel like having extensive databases are extremely integral in order to have a well-designed building. BIM software interaction with different databases has tremendously improved the building design/construction industry. I personally have experience in HVAC energy modelling software such as eQuest and Carrier HAP and it has made it a lot easier to have easy access through that software.

Laura,

I enjoyed reading your blog post. I have never heard of WEB-CONS and I found that very interesting. I agree with your view point on how databases have tremendously improved the construction industry. I believe that the more information we have the better estimations and designs we’d produce. With advancements in databases I believe that there have been numerous improvements in cost estimation and construction analysis. Also, general knowledge in the construction field has been drastically improved. 

B5 - Group B - Zabiega

Structured Query Language (SQL) is one of the reasons we have the World Wide Web as it is responsible for querying and editing information that is stored on databases around the world that manage the system. SQL has been around since the 70’s but now is far more flexible to users  with its capability of supporting distributed databases, which means computers are networked and connected at all times. This greatly improves processes strength and allows for new functionality such as support for XML, triggers, regular expression matching, recursive queries and standardized sequences.

SQL is based on many different elements that can handle all necessary language commands; Clauses, expressions, predicates, queries and statements make up these elements. This enables SQL to retrieve data, update/insert/delete records from databases, create new databases and can set permissions in those databases. These commands can be summed up as: Select, Insert, Delete, Create and Drop. These commands can essentially enable the user to do anything to databases.

In the end, SQL is a very useful and helpful program to sort, find, view and edit information stored in databases all around the world.

Sources:

https://www.ntchosting.com/encyclopedia/databases/structured-query-language/

http://www.w3schools.com/sql/sql_intro.asp

http://www.sqlcourse.com/intro.html

Comments:

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/02/b5-group-b-shields.html?showComment=1455054859938#c5669809592686519000

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/02/sql-what-is-it-and-why-important-as.html?showComment=1455054995412#c4910510389648974239

B5 - Object Oriented Databases - Haoying Ye

Object oriented databases is a database that has the ability to take inputs and reflect them into outputs, it deal with specified objects, and follow specific methods. It represents and computes the data collection into an object that can be used within a computer program. This method of design primarily consists of two characteristics; Attributes (a composition of integers, strings, and real numbers that are stored as a record) and codes (algorithms that define an object with the use of attributes as the data source). And how it works is that we have objects stored on the database that reference the ability to develop a product, which can be saved and stored again as a new assembled object. This new object can be recalled later easily without reassembling it again.

Compare to Relational databases, OODB designed to work with images, videos and 3d objects, instead of integers, character strings and simple text facts. In addition, RDB organizes data in tables that are already installed and stored, while OODB has the ability to develop new products based on the stored objects and data. Object Oriented Database haven’t become popular, because OODB requires special kind of programming language and a little bit not user friendly, but RDB is easy to use for non-specialized users and can be programed by non-expert users.

Object oriented databases should be used for complex data relationship, such as, CAS Applications (Computer aided software engineering, CAD, computer aided manufacture), Multimedia Applications, object projects that change over time, commerce. The reason for that is Object oriented databases don’t require assembly and disassembly saving coding time and execution time to assemble or disassemble object, it reduced paging, easier navigation, works well for distributed architectures, less code required when applications are object oriented.

On the other hand, Object oriented databases have lower efficiency when data is simple and relationships are simple, late binding may slow access speed. Besides, there are more user tools exist for RDBMS, standards for RDBMS are more stable, support for RDBMS is more certain and change is less likely to be required.

If the database of objects can be regulated, companies and designers will have an updated catalog of different parts and systems that are up to code and accepted by a larger variety of clients. This would allow for a more effective interconnected database system.

References:

http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ObjectOrientedDatabase

http://www.comptechdoc.org/independent/database/basicdb/dataobject.html

Comments:

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/02/b5-group-c-cristian-almendariz.html?showComment=1455054271096#c1894235816049592271

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/02/b5-group-c-faisal-alghati.html?showComment=1455054495450#c4357057634854423928

B5 - Group C - Cristian Almendariz

            I will like to say that before this post, I did not know what databases or object-oriented databases were.  For this reason, I looked up several websites for a simple yet easy to understand definition.  I will like to start by defining what databases and objects are.  As it name describes, a database is a base of data.  The properties of databases depend on dead, static data meaning that this data will remain the same all the time.  On the other hand, objects will hide the non-static data under behaviors that can change.  Traditional database applications will manipulate temporal data while the data within the database is permanent.  On the other hand, object database application will manipulate both temporal and permanent data [1]. 

In my research, I was able to find that object oriented databases are also known as Object Database Management systems (ODBMS) [1] or Object-Oriented Database Management Systems (OODBMS) [2]. Object-oriented databases store their contents as objects rather than data (e.g. real numbers, integers, or strings).  These objects are utilized in object-oriented programs (e.g. C++, Smalltalk, Java, and others).  Objects are composed of attributes and methods.  The characteristics of an object are defined by data known as attributes.  This data may be really simple (e.g. strings, real numbers, integers) or be a reference to a more complicated object.  On the other hand, methods are procedures or functions that define the behavior of an object.  For this reason, objects have both executable code and data.  Furthermore, classes are typically used in object-oriented programming and they can be tough to be as a template to the object.  A class will not contain data or methods itself but instead define the data and methods the object will incorporate.  Additionally, classes may be used to recreate parts or methods of the object that are not stored in the database [1].  Object-oriented databases store data as objects and can be interpreted only by using the methods specified by its class [3].

             For a better understanding, object-oriented databases can be compared to relational databases.  Relational databases store data in two-dimensional tables that have rows and columns.  Typically, these tables will be “normalized” to prevent unnecessary data repetition.  Each column has a unique “value” identifier to allow a better sorting and understanding of data.  It allows data to be identified so it can be obtained or changed if necessary.  Objects can be put into relational databases but they must be described in terms of simple integers, strings, or real number data.  This breaking and sorting of complex information can be labor intensive and may require the writing of code [1].

            The use of object-oriented databases is recommended for complex data and/or complex relationships.  On the other hand, they should be used when are hardly any join tables and there is a lot of simple transactional data.  There a numerous advantages and disadvantages with using object-oriented databases compared with relational databases.  Advantages such as less required coding, easier navigation, reduced paging (length), better concurrency control, data model will be based on the real world, it will work well for distributed architectures, and object will not require assembly and disassembly saving coding time and execution time to assemble or disassemble this objects.  Disadvantages such as slow access speed due to late binding, lower efficiency for simple data and relationships, relational databases (RB) have simpler tables, support for RB is certain and less likely to change, RB has broader number of user tools, and RB has more stable standards [1].  For the most part it can be assumed that object oriented databases are better for more complex situations and relational databases should be used for simpler situations.

William,

I think you made an excellent point by saying that object-oriented databases simplify storage and data use.  I believe that object-oriented databases were the foundation for nowadays-complex software’s.  Without it, many of them would not be possible or they will take significantly higher computing processing requirements.  Moreover, object-oriented databases have made programing less labor intensive and allow it to become more complex.  I also think that Revit is a program that employs and takes great advantage of object-oriented databases to create really complex models.  Your post’s sentence completion example helped me have a better understanding of what object-oriented databases are and how they work.  I was able to see how each element of an object-oriented database plays a significant role and without any of them it would not work.  Additionally, the method is really important in determining what this database will do “change the meaning of the sentence”.

Alexis,

I like the your comparison between relational database and object oriented databases.  From your information, I am able to deduct that object oriented databases could and should be used for more complex situations/operations.  I was able to find that, although object oriented databases are really good for complex operations they are not reliable for simple operations.  For this reason, it is recommended that relational databases to be used for simple operations.  Going along with the fact that CAD uses object-oriented databases, I believe that Revit also uses it specially for creating families. 

Reference

[1] http://www.comptechdoc.org/independent/database/basicdb/dataobject.html

[2] http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ObjectOrientedDatabase

[3] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/object-oriented-database