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by duncan on 11 Nov 2020
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I've created a new section in the directory
https://wiki.osarch.org/index.php?title=AEC_Free_Software_directory#Proprietary_software_and_OpenBIM
and added
https://wiki.osarch.org/index.php?title=Autodesk_Inventor
https://wiki.osarch.org/index.php?title=Autodesk_Revit
to a new category
https://wiki.osarch.org/index.php?title=Category:Proprietary_software
So anyone should feel free to start adding tips and links to documentation on how to make proprietary software more OpenBIM friendly.
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by duncan on 11 Nov 2020
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@Moult said:
I agree that the list should not contain "generic" software, like LibreOffice. Those generic software are still useful to mention, but it should perhaps live in a separate list.
For anyone watching this thread who missed it in another thread, there is now a page for opensource projects in general:
https://wiki.osarch.org/index.php?title=Open_source_software_beginners
@baswein
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by bitacovir on 14 Nov 2020
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Regard3D
http://www.regard3d.org/index.php
It converts photos of an object, taken from different angles, into a 3D model of this object.
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by Moult on 14 Nov 2020
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+1 votes
@bitacovir looks great! It reminds me of COLMAP / VSFM. Would you mind adding it to the wiki?
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by bitacovir on 14 Nov 2020, edited 14 Nov 2020
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+2 votes
ProjeQtOr
https://www.projeqtor.org/en/
ProjeQtOr is a collaborative and free open source project management software. It's a tool designed to be a Project Organizer as a Rich Internet Application. Web based mode, once installed, you can work from the web browser.
(Added to the list)
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by duncan on 15 Nov 2020
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@bitacovir said:
Sir. Yes, sir!
It's so nice to see a bit of respect. There's so little of it these days. </end sarcasm>
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by duncan on 15 Nov 2020
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I'd like to hear about projects that focus on federated workflows / distributed labor and other things relevant to a multi-person workflow. What do we know of and what should be on the directory list? One reason I want to learn more about this is so that we can get some of our test projects / workflows going in a way that looks feasible to other.
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by ReD_CoDE on 16 Nov 2020
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@bitacovir looks interesting, however, CPM is an old method
Also, I couldn't find their repo. Where's it?
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by ReD_CoDE on 16 Nov 2020
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Parser for EXPRESS files, originally coded to provide type information to the IFC Syntax VSCode extension
https://github.com/AlanRynne/ifc-syntax-express-parser
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by Moult on 16 Nov 2020
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+1 votes
@bitacovir oh wow the screenshots for ProjeQtor. I thought I could handle busy interfaces... I was wrong. I have zero experience in construction planning, so I don't know if such project management tools are generic and can be applied in AEC. In contrast, I know there are highly specialised tools like Sablono (proprietary) which suggest that there are certainly enough AEC specific features to warrant specialised tools. Is there someone here with experience who can judge whether it should be added to the directory?
@ReD_CoDE cheers! I've added it to the directory.
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by ReD_CoDE on 16 Nov 2020
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@Moult personally I have a good feeling to ProjeQtor, its interface is messy, but follows a good idea, however, as I mentioned before about another PM app, CPM approach is out-dated today, but small firms, and some medium firms still use it, because is good enough for those scales
I just want to see their OS repo, and their license type
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by bitacovir on 16 Nov 2020
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@Moult said:
@bitacovir oh wow the screenshots for ProjeQtor. I thought I could handle busy interfaces... I was wrong. I have zero experience in construction planning, so I don't know if such project management tools are generic and can be applied in AEC. In contrast, I know there are highly specialised tools like Sablono (proprietary) which suggest that there are certainly enough AEC specific features to warrant specialised tools. Is there someone here with experience who can judge whether it should be added to the directory?
The project states that the software is well suited for IT projects, but it is totally capable for any kind of project.
https://www.projeqtor.org/en/product-en
The licence is GNU Affero General Public License (the links to the licence are in the paragraphs of the webpage). Anyway here you are: https://www.projeqtor.org/en/product-en/downloads
The source it is shared at Sourceforge (SVN repository is https://svn.code.sf.net/p/projectorria/code and visible at https://sourceforge.net/p/projectorria/code/HEAD/tree/)
https://www.projeqtor.org/en/online/contribution
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by Moult on 17 Nov 2020
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@bitacovir I see. I'm just cautious that they might be making claims of suitability for an industry they might not fully know the details of.
What do others think? Should we add it? What is your experience in construction planning?
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by bitacovir on 17 Nov 2020
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@Moult said:
@bitacovir I see. I'm just cautious that they might be making claims of suitability for an industry they might not fully know the details of.
What do others think? Should we add it? What is your experience in construction planning?
@Moult I think it is ok. We already have in the Software Directory GanttProject and ProjectLibre. They are not focused on Building Industry and I think they are more basic than ProjeQtor. But if you think that it is too far from the AEC field, we can delete it.
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by Moult on 17 Nov 2020
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@bitacovir cheers! I'm not qualified to know whether it should be there or not, so happy to have it there until someone makes an informed claim otherwise. Thanks for adding!
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by duncan on 17 Nov 2020
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@Moult @bitacovir I also think there are so few opensource project management tools that we should just add it. In the description we can write that it generic. If we get so many that we need to remove some generic solutions then we can do that.
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by bitacovir on 17 Nov 2020
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What about "home automation", "domotics", or "SmartHome". Those ones should be included in the Software Directory?
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by duncan on 17 Nov 2020
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@bitacovir good question. Now that you mention it that makes good sense if we want to build a strong section on building operations. I guess that would go under https://wiki.osarch.org/index.php?title=AEC_Free_Software_directory#Facility_Management
I fear the list might soon be unmanageable. But I guess that's a technical issue we'll just have to fix. For now I've made the tables collapsible (but expanded by default) which helps.
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by Moult on 17 Nov 2020
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+1 votes
@duncan I've split off software dev tools into its own page. This is because software dev tools are growing very quickly, and it could use some categorisation by itself. Also, this helps to not scare end-users who are looking at the directory.
I also split off proprietary extensions. Acknowledging their existence is helpful, but as a condition of use is to accept non-free software, I wouldn't exactly call them free software and I don't think they really belong on that page. Certainly in the software world people don't usually consider them free software.
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by iosvarms on 18 Nov 2020, edited 18 Nov 2020
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Added to the wiki --- Open IFC viewer. A 3D visualization and inspection tool for IFC files from Open Design Alliance [https://openifcviewer.com]
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by duncan on 18 Nov 2020
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@Moult said:
I also split off proprietary extensions. Acknowledging their existence is helpful, but as a condition of use is to accept non-free software, I wouldn't exactly call them free software and I don't think they really belong on that page.
I'm fine with the split, wondered about something similar myself. That observation tough is valid for any windows-only application. The strength of highlighting Free extensions to proprietary software is that people can use them in their workflow now. pyRevit is driving a wedge into anyone who says libre software isn't good enough to be useful. Rhino.Inside is doing the same. Dynamo in it's way also.
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by Moult on 18 Nov 2020
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+1 votes
@iosvarms are you sure it is open source? I do not see any source, nor do I see any free software license.
@duncan Correct, the observation is indeed valid for any Windows-only application. For that reason I've just moved XBim Xplorer to the "extensions to proprietary software" page. Yeah, I don't mind highlighting them on their own page, and I think we should maintain that page well to help people realise they may already be using open source to produce commercial grade output.
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by bitacovir on 18 Nov 2020, edited 18 Nov 2020
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@iosvarms said:
Added to the wiki --- Open IFC viewer. A 3D visualization and inspection tool for IFC files from Open Design Alliance [https://openifcviewer.com]
I don't think it is Open Source. We must be careful about the unethical and abusive use of the term "Open" in the name of some products with only marketing intentions (maybe we could call them OpenF*ck).
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by Moult on 19 Nov 2020, edited 19 Nov 2020
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+4 votes
I have removed it from the wiki. There are a few misleading names that we should watch out for:
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Open design alliance (not at all open) & all of their products
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OpenSpace (not open at all)
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Xeokit (claims in big letters that they are open source, not true. I've sent another message to the creator requesting him to change the wording - he has responded that he will, but hasn't yet done so)
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Unreal Engine (source available, but not free software)
I think it's best to simply be aware of these but not mention them anywhere on the wiki. Mentioning them will simply promote them. If we see claims from people that they are open, we should correct them. The AEC journalist Martyn Day recently made the term "openwash", like greenwashing, but for open source. Maybe we can use that term.