I don't like dgnlibs because it is not obvious what is stored in which dgnlib.
Now we have level libraries in dgnlibs. Which is the active file looks in another file for the data.
So why can't we have the active file look in something more transparent and readable than a dgn? Like a csv, or a xls, which can be viewed parallel to the active dgn in ustn.
It would also be much easier to edit than through LM in ustn.
I'll re-phrase....shareable is referring to the data. Many programs can read and extract data from databases. And yes the process is a query. Few programs can read a dgnlib. Those that can are probably a CADD program also. The real push in the future will be to share more and more data. A dgnlib does not easily lend itself to that. A CSV file is nothing more than output as a delimited text file. It can be read by many programs but it is an intermediate step that could be bypassed. Bentley should be moving more towards sharing of data.
Unknown said:The things stored in dgn files would be better suited to be stored in a file meant for storage of information and shareable
But that's the purpose of a DGNLib: it stores information and it is shareable.
The problems with DGNLibs, voiced here and elsewhere, are that they are opaque and consequently hard to manage.
Unknown said:That would be a database
Relational databases provide the Structured Query Language (SQL) so you can interrogate them. XML provides XQuery and XPath. CSV has nothing except the human eyeball. There is no query language for a DGNLib, which is why it is opaque: even if you know the question, there's no way to ask.
Regards, Jon Summers LA Solutions
Budlite
Sure, anything that reveals what's inside and is easily available.
regards / Thomas Voghera
I somewhat agree with Thomas that basically dgnlib files is the wrong direction. I don't agree with simple csv files though. Personally all the things stored in dgn files would be better suited to be stored in a file meant for storage of information and shareable. That would be a database file.
Try this and let me know if it helps make things clearer (althought it will prompt other questions I'm sure!): 101 - DGNLIB (Design File Libraries)
Regards
Marc