Infrastructure for Integrated, Heterogeneous Engineering Databases and Design Histories

本研究探讨了工程设计的先进异构数据库环境，重点是使用设计知识和将设计决策与设计版本联系起来。该环境使用黑板方法来协调、集成和监控产品开发。面向对象的数据库提供存储在各种数据库中的复杂设计实体的集成逻辑视图。因此，设计人员对异构数据存储库如何构成完整的产品设计有一个全局视图。黑板还协调专家系统和演绎数据库的访问，以提供工程设计知识。设计历史被捕获为一系列设计开发步骤，相应的工程知识被用于每个步骤和最终的决策。使用导航和基于知识的方法来查询设计历史。这项研究对数据库技术的影响将是通过使用面向对象的概念来实现设计数据的紧密耦合视图，从而推动异构数据库的发展。面向对象的概念还将扩展为用于捕获和查询设计历史的过程模型。这项研究还将通过提供设计知识和数据的综合视图，以及支持查询设计历史的能力，从而提高工程设计的生产力，从而允许重用以前的设计。

This research investigates an advanced heterogeneous database environment for engineering design, with emphasis on using design knowledge and relating design decisions to design versions. The environment uses a blackboard approach to coordinate, integrate, and monitor product development. An object-oriented database provides an integrated, logical view of complex design entities that are stored in a variety of databases. Designers therefore have a global view of how heterogeneous data repositories form the complete product design. The blackboard also coordinates access to expert systems and deductive databases to provide engineering design knowledge. Design histories are captured as a series of design development steps and the corresponding engineering knowledge is used in each step and resulting decision. Both navigational and knowledge-based approaches to querying design histories are used. The impact of this research on database technology will be the advancement of heterogeneous databases through the use of object-oriented concepts to achieve a tightly-coupled view of design data. Object-oriented concepts will also be extended with a process model for capturing and querying design histories. This research will also lead to the improvement of the engineering design productivity by providing an integrated view of design knowledge and data and by supporting the ability to query design histories allowing re-use of previous designs.