Implementation of STEP interfaces on CAD systems

STEP is emerging as the international standard for the representation, exchange, sharing and archiving of product model data. Despite its merits, the comprehensiveness and complexity of STEP can cause great difficulties in the understanding and implementation of the standard. Efforts involved in a typical STEP interface development would include a precise understanding of the relevant STEP definitions and tedious processes of system implementation. Both are time consuming and error-prone if performed manually. A methodology for users to develop software tools to alleviate human experts in processing STEP definitions and facilitate the development of STEP interfaces can be developed by making use of the computer sensible feature of the EXPRESS language.