Database Support for Evolving Design Objects

One of the most important problems of database management systems for CAD applications is support for evolving design objects. In this paper we provide an integrated solution for three very important issues: design project decomposition into subprojects, design synchronization among engineers working on different parts of a large design, and documentation of the design process. We discuss the interaction of versioning with time and we show how these two orthogonal concepts can be used in the documentation of the design process in an engineering design environment.