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The official BIMserver.org factsheet seems to be very popular. To serve users as best as possible there are now three languages available: English, German and Dutch. You can volunteer translating other languages. Send an e-mail to translate@bimserver.org to help out. Have fun reading the factsheets!

Just a short notice: the BIMserver breakfast of 2010 will be on September 1st.
After the successes of the previous BIMserver breakfasts we intent to expand this year. The concept is simple: al attendees get together to try out the BIMserver software, share ideas, find bugs, or anything else related to BIM and the open source BIMserver. There will be breakfast, coffee and some short presentations from the development team. More info on the location (probably will be the Netherlands) and how to sign in, will follow soon.

PS: The BIMserver breakfast is open for sponsors. More info on http://breakfast.bimserver.org/2010/

Returning readers of this blog have noticed the start of a BIMserver Pilot 2010 in the Netherlands. This bimserver pilot is not limited to just the open source BIMserver, but it will probably have a strong focus.

The kickoff meeting of the pilot has taking place at TNO. During this meeting quite a large number of participants elaborated on what they expect and want to contribute in the pilot. TNO is now working on a projectplan to set off with this pilot.

For those of you who want to keep up with things going on in the pilot, or even want to participate: join the special mailinglist at http://bimserver.nl/mailman/listinfo/pilot2010_bimserver.nl
This is the only form of communication about this pilot. The projectplan will be send to participants using this mailinglist. Most of the conversations will be in Dutch, but most Dutch people speak pretty good English, so feel free to join in.

We get a lot of questions about the BIMserver software. Most of them are really good questions. Most of the answers can be found on the website (or by simply using the software itself). Because the audience is growing and more and more people would like to have a factsheet about the BIMserver, we decided to create just that.

BIMserver.org introduces the BIMserver factsheet on http://www.bimserver.org/factsheet/

For now we only have a Dutch language (our native speech). English will follow soon. We like to invite you to help us translate to any language you prefer.

We plan the new BIMserver software release as the 1.0 version. We hope to get this 1.0 version before the summer. Some of you already saw some new features in the demo-server or the source code. For other users, just some new features that will be in 1.0:

• Advanced queries and rules (‘get me all doors on the first floor wider than 800mm’)
• Log for administrators (see what’s happening on your server)
• Branching a model (variant studies)
• O3D visualisation in the browser
• Clashdetection on IFC
• More speed with less memory use
• and maybe even workflow….

We’ll keep you posted on the progress!

The geeks and nerds at BIMserver.org have a huge interested in new developments. Most of us have already used the new Apple iPad just to try it out.

The last few weeks we get a lot of press releases from softwaretools that claim the ‘now work on the iPad’.
We believe we can not stay behind on this hype and that is why we feel we have to get this out in the world: It’s now possible to check your BIM model on the beach using your iPad!
Your BIMserver can be accessed using your iPad and this makes it possible to use the interface everywhere in the world!
Have a look at the screenshot to became just as enthusiastic as we are.

For smart readers: the open source BIMserver software is platform independent and runs on everything that has Java installed (on other words: everyting). To connect to the BIMserver software there are several different interfaces available. The web userinterface is the most famous and most used. To connect to your BIMserver all you need is a web browser. Because the iPad has a web brower build in it is possible to evaluatie your BIM model. You probably get the point by now: this statement is just a funny response (well we think it’s funny) to the marketing of commercial software builders.

The development team was speeding up real nice the last couple of weeks. The core of the software changed and updated again to new technology. The development team always has strong focus on the core of the software, instead of adding cool features without thinking them through. The last couple of weeks a few core changes were made that improve stability and performance once more. One of the coolest changes is the automatic generation of SOAP objects. From now on the SOAP objects are generated from the EMF core model. This makes future development faster and the bimserver more stable after changes. A nice side effect of this improvement is the easy generation of a log. The next feature in the bimserver will be a log for the administrator so he can see what happened in his server.

After this intens core development and improvement, the team is slowing down to ‘normal cruising speed’. We decided that we are going to skip the 0.9 release because the stability and performance are now at the level we want for a 1.0 stable release. There’s a 64bit option, a second JVM for stability, streaming data exchange, webbased O3D viewer,  et cetera. The current planning for the 1.0 release is somewhere around summer. If you can’t wait that long you might consider funding our team. We have great sponsor packages that focus on adding value for your company as well as for the BIMserver development.

The BIMserver.org development team is gaining speed. We are running fast at the moment. Peter is working on the transition from JNative to JNA to make sure everything also works on 64bits machines. Pim is doing a great job on the IFC Clashdetection and working on making the IFC Engine DLL to handle streaming data. Ruben did a memory optimalisation and is now fixing some bugs. It looks like we are jumping to the 1.0 release before the summer and skipping the planned 0.9 release. Michel and Léon are busy thinking about what comes after 1.0, discussing Joseki and ontologies (we won’t bother you with that right now).
For the moment all signs are green for a big release party (?). Just to give you guys a sneak preview of what’s comming up:

• Memory usage optimalisation.
• Optimised map from reading database (no more wrapped values).
• Optimsed webbased modelbrowser.
• No more recursion on read/write (so no more geen stack overflow).
• O3D webbased modelviewer.
• Advanced query options in browser (rule language).
• Integrated clash detection.

So keep track of the demo-server and the mailinglists.

The BIMserver.org software is used this week in the Dutch BIMCaseweek. The week (which only lasts for 4 days) started today. Two teams use the BIMserver software. TNO has provided a cloudserver with 16 Gb internal RAM memory to handle the big models. The teams use the modelserver software for backup, revision management and of course the merging. One of the users said “I can not find any software that can merge the different models for construction, electrician, HVAC, et cetera… The BIMserver software is the only one that does the job“. The proof that the bimserver software can do the job,  can be found in the picture.

This is a big test for the software and we are very happy that the teams trust and like the software enough to use it in this competition.

As you guys know, we just released the 0.8.1 version. For the 0.9 release the main attraction will be the integrated clash detection. Also other features will be very useful for the next release.
However, the development team decided that this is the time to look at the core again. After every release we checked back to the core and looked how the new features and new direction of the development influences the core. Also after the latest release we checked back under the hood to see what can be better.
These are the hours of work nobody really sees because it’s not a new button or feature, but just some milliseconds of performance or better memory use. However, we think it is the base of the BIMserver and spend a lot of time on this.

We know that most users will probably see something else then just some blabbering about memory use, stacksize and heapsize. So this is the time to give you something…. During the base improvement of the core, we also had a closer look at the O3D feature. And there is some good news: it works! And we have a picture for the fans.
For the developers: the code is in the SVN repository. For the mainstream users: just let us look at the stacksize and heapsize and wait patient. The next release will have the cool stuff.

The open source BIMserver seeks publicity in the Netherlands next week. Most of our users are outside of the Netherlands, while most of the development is done by Dutch guys. That is why we get away from our computerscreens and try to connect to real people next week (of course accompanied by coffee). We will be at the Bouw&ICT beurs and ICTDelta.

You can find us at/in:

• Bouw&ICT on Wednesday and Thursday on stand B036.
• Bouw&ICT on Thursday during the ‘Hoe Slim is Uw BIM?‘ (how smart is your BIM?) competition. The winner of this competition gets a BIMserver Masterclass.
• ICT Delta on Thursday in the demo hall and giving a presentation in the demotheater.

Hope to see you there!

BIMserver.org: 0.8.1 usability release.

The open source BIMserver just released a new stable version of the software. The new release is the 0.8.1 version. This release should be a ‘usability update’ so the interface will be (even)  more user friendly. However, during development we decided to integrate some major changes in the core of the architecture. The IFC Engine DLL is now running in a separate JVM. When the DLL crashes, the BIMserver keeps on running and can even startup the crashed JVM again. This makes the use of the software more stable.

Just some of the changes:

• Fixed bugs (sourceforge buglist)
• ‘work in progress’ button on compare and download.
• ‘e-mail this’ button on compare.
• Compare function out of revision lists.
• ‘Upload in progress’ feature.
• ‘no revisions yet’ notice at empty projects.
• Anonymous access (checkbox) at creation of projects.
• CityGML bugs fixed.
• ifcXML 100% valid.
• IFC Engine DLL loading and installation is integrated.
• IFC schema to IFC Engine DLL optimised.
• Separate notice of active and archived checkouts.
• Registration of new users optional by ‘only admin’ or ‘register from start’.
• Created separat JVMs for IFC Engine DLL and BIMserver.
• Created a settings page for the administrator (to edit settings.xml in the webinterface).
• Split upload of IFC and handling IFC data into database (performance).
• Changed SOAP Url to /bimserver/services/soap
• Upload IFC in ZIP files.
• Download models in ZIP files.
• Ignoring identical upload of revisions.
• Merging subprojects of choice by user.
• Non-usefull tabs are hiding in the webinterface.
• Update of Jetty (in standalone release)
• Created info page for IFC ojects (to embed)
• Added ‘plain text’ option for download.
• Upload/download ignore.xml file in settings page.
• Added IFC browser for projects and revisions (integrated with summary page)
• Added ‘forgot password?’ link on login page.
• RSS feeds work with autorisation.
• Checking if upload file is IFC.
• Checking (on startup) if database is not locked by other proces (other BIMserver instance)
• Checking (on startup) for correct database schema.
• and a lot more….

The team doesn’t stop developing and new plans are already being deployed.
The latest release is now available for download at download.bimserver.org. The demoserver is also running the stable version. Check it out on demo.bimserver.org.

The Netherlands organisation for applied scientific research TNO and the Eindhoven University of Technology just released a call for participation (Dutch PDF) on a BIM modelserver pilot project.

The open source BIMserver project will become a core element of the pilot. The pilotproject has a strong focus on the Dutch AEC industry, but is also open for international participants. You will find more info (in Dutch) in the pdf of the original call.

As you guys know, the BIMserver team works very close with the guys from TNO in the Netherlands. A year ago this resulted in a special client side IFC viewer with an ‘open from server’  button. In the 0.8 release we integrated the IFC Engine DLL that makes it possible for the BIMserver to export to CityGML, Collada, Google Earth, and more….

Today we announce a new feature of the BIMserver that is a result of our cooperation with TNO: integrated Clash detection!

The 0.9 release of the BIMserver will have the ability to check your model for clashes. This means you can check a submodel (two walls modelled by the architect clashing) or even the merged complete model (to check if a pipe that’s modelled by the HVAC modeller clashes with a wall that is modelled by the architect).

This feature is seen as a key feature for working with BIM. The open source BIMserver is proud to offer this feature to our users. We will keep you posted on the details and the release date.

Getting to know the BIMserver: introductions and details….

BIMserver.org is an open source software server written in Java that allows users to share and edit Building Information Models. Designed for interoperability, it publishes BIM data using open standards.

When you are a professional in the AEC industry and you want just a bit of extra attention beside the standard documentation, we are glad to help you. A full day masterclass will introduce you to BIMserver.  Attendees will learn how to upload, publish, and share BIM data in different formats.  Discussion will include the BIMserver user interfaces, IFC, merging, clash detection, and much more….

Get a full day of personal attention of the BIMserver experts, addressing your issues, helping on your specific questions. Make sure to invite your partners as well!

Who should want this:
Anyone interested in BIM and working together with partners is encouraged to attend, but familiarity with basic BIM concepts and 3D modelling is suggested.

Directions:
The masterclass will take place at your office. We will come to your place and help you with your issues. Make sure to invite your partners as well!

Please contact us at masterclass@bimserver.org for more information or to book our experts.

Since the release of the 0.8 version of our software, we manage to get a wider user-group. More and more people download and use the software. The demoserver also gets more users every day. To give you an idea about where our users come from we plotted this map from the statistics engine.

bimserver users from 0.8 release until today....

As you can see, many of the users are in Europe. We have to say that the US is gaining fast. This week was the first week that there were more US visitors on our site, than all other countries together. Seems like you guys don’t mind my typos once in a while….

Let’s hope that this map will look completely red in a few months. We will try to please more new users with our upcoming 0.8.1 release.

The launch of the 0.8 version of the open source BIMserver could be called a huge success. But the team is sensitive about the userfeedback. Some users gave great feedback on the 0.8 version. The BIMserver.org development team is now working on some small features and fixes that mainly focus on the usability. Ajax technology is now incorporated in the web-user-interface. We expect to have this new release up and running somewhere in February 2010. Some of the stuff you can expect:

• Some small user-interface bugfixes
• Work in progress notifications
• ‘e-Mail this’ buttons on some (result)pages
• Compare function as a separate feature (not in the revision table anymore)
• Upload in progress notification (because some of us click twice and have a double upload)

As you can see it’s mainly about the web-user-interface. When this make you curious you can have a look at the demo.bimserver.org site. This site will always run the latest (nightly build) version of the bimserver software.

BIMserver.org: new release, new site, new features!

The open source BIMserver just released a new stable version of their software. The new release is the 0.8 version. A lot has changed since the 0.1 version in March this year. Just some of the new features:

• 25% speed increase
• concept of sub-projects
• improved automatic merging
• RSS change notification
• geolocate projects
• improved multi user support
• improved web-user-interface
• google earth network link
• smart revision management
• extended query and filter options
• more details on your revision
• checkout/update warnings (while concurrent engineering)
• enhanced read only access
• enhanced user rights management
• change finder on revisions
• export of CityGML, Collada, KML, IFC properties, O3D
• reference implementation of the CityGML ADE for IFC and BIM
• get a summary of your model
• and a lot more….

Some of these features are a direct result of the successful BIMserver Breakfast in November at TNO; some come from the intense contact with some of our users. 
This release of the open source bimserver software is, without a doubt, the ‘best bimserver ever’. The team doesn’t stop developing and new plans are already being deployed.
The latest release is now available for download at download.bimserver.org. The demoserver (which was offline during the final stage of development) is back online as well. Check it out on demo.bimserver.org.

Together with the new software, the team also launches their new website. Because our software is stable and professional, our site also needed a more professional layout.
With this new software-release and the new website the bimserver.org-team and it’s users are ready for the future.

This week the development team of bimserver.org found out that we are all passionate about our jobs. That’s not really a surprise (or we wouldn’t make this software open source) and it gives a lot of valuable opportunities like having fun at what you do.
But as all good things in life it also has a downside. In this case the downside is that things we are not as passionate about will fall behind on the cool stuff.
For the open source bimserver software this means that we are looking at implementing O3D visualization in the new release, but because we are passionate about this, the given release date of December 18th will not be made.
Our families decided that it would be good for us to stay home for Christmas and not work with anything that has the word ‘java’ in it (except for the coffee of course). This means that we will (for sure) release a new version of the bimserver.org software before Christmas (central European time) and hope to have all the new features like O3D in it.
So to be short: we won’t make December 18th, but the waiting won’t be long and we will give you extra stuff in return.

The BIMserver version 0.8 Release Candidate 1 (RC1) is online for download. It is still without documentation, but the installation is about the same as the 0.1 version. When you want some (Dutch) documentation or info on the new features you can have a look at breakfast.bimserver.org. The release date for the 0.8 stable version is planned for December 18th 2009. When you find a bug in this release candidate, please report it at this site.

The BIMserver breakfast last week was a great success. Around 60 users came to TNO in Delft (the Netherlands) to test the new features. They spent a few hours each and found two bugs in total. A nice complement for the developers!
The development team is finding solutions to fix the bugs these days.
You also gave us valuable feedback and made some new feature requests. We are trying to incorporate (some of) these requests in the new release.
We plan to schedule a new release on December 18th this year. Because this is an open source project we depend on a lot of external issues. As you know this release date is more than anything subject to change (update: 22th December).
This next stable release will be a 0.8 version. There are two big issues (user rights and permissions; and memory use) that have to be solved before the 1.0 release. For the moment we do not have any finances to develop to this 1.0 release.
When you want to be notified when the new version is released, please connect to the mailing list. To give you an impression of the new features in 0.8 have a look at this presentation.

The BIMserver.org development-team is working night-shifts to get ready in time for the 2009 BIMserver-breakfast. The sourcecode is rapidly changing every day. The BIMserver software is transforming to a completely new architecture. The merging capabilities will become more in the core of the architecture (in stead of ‘just’ a feature) and the ‘difference finder’ is getting better and better every day. Some of our first users call this new version ‘the best BIMserver ever’. The development team just hopes it will be ready in time for the breakfast….

If you plan to look at the new features at the BIMserver-breakfast, don’t forget to send us an e-mail that you are coming over (so we can make sure there will be enough of the brown stuff).

As part of a PhD research, Saskia Gabriël is conducting an anonymous survey to identify what is lacking and what can be improved in the future development and implementation of BIM. You can access the survey at this link.
First of all,  we kindly ask you to take the survey and secondly, I would like to ask you to spread the survey to any other colleagues and team members who would like to help create a better world, using BIM. The survey holds 26 questions and takes maximum 10 minutes of your time. Please enter your email address under the last question if you want to receive the results of this survey. Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.
Sincerely thanks,
Saskia Gabriël, PhD Candidate in Architecture, Artesis University College of Antwerp, Belgium

These days all the open source GIS nerds are attending the FOSS4G (Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial information) congress in Sydney Australia. Because the BIM world and the GIS world are starting to overlap each other, BIMserver.org was also present at this conference. We made a contribution by presenting the CityGML extension for BIM and it’s implementation in BIMserver.org. For those of you who missed it you can find the sheets, the extension and some example files on foss4g.bimserver.org.

BIMserver.org would like to show of some new features. We will do this in a ‘BIMserver Breakfast’ in November. Unfortunately the invitations are only in Dutch. For those who can read Dutch see below; for those who will only read English, be aware that this event is taking place in the Netherlands and all people there speak Dutch….

Bij deze nodigen we je uit voor het ‘BIMserver Breakfast’ op woensdag 25 november 2009.

Schrik je niet terug van termen als JAVA, Webservices, IFC en Query (of durf je gewoon toe te geven dat je een nerd bent)? Kom dan mét je laptop, je ideeën, vragen, verhalen, tips en trucs over de open source BIMserver uitwisselen met anderen. Ken je de open source BIMserver nog niet zo goed, en spreken termen als COINS, Innovatiecentrum voor BIM, BIM-Quickscan, en Clash detectie je meer aan? Kom dan (ook met laptop) langs en krijg hulp bij het installeren van de software op je eigen laptop!

Vanaf 7.30 ben je van harte welkom in Delft (maar als je wat later komt is ook prima). Wij zorgen voor het ontbijt (zolang de vooraad strekt, dus kom niet té laat), internet en een onuitputtelijke hoeveelheid koffie! Aan het eind van de ochtend ben je volledig op de hoogte van de nieuwste features en laatste ontwikkelingen rond BIM en de open source BIMserver.

Meld je voor deze ‘Technology preview‘ aan via breakfast@bimserver.org
Mensen die van plan zijn met een stropdas te komen kunnen zich aanmelden op ik.heb.het.niet.begrepen@bimserver.org

PS: stuur deze uitnodiging gerust door aan andere geïntereseerden!