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

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.