Data exchange: File transfer, transaction processing and application interoperability

This paper provides an overview of information exchange for design and construction. It summarizes the business problems and challenges that affect electronic information exchange and it discusses the modes of information exchange that support project coordination and communication. The two primary extant modes of electronic exchange are file exchange (IGES, DXF, STandards for the Exchange of Product data (STEP)) and electronic transaction (EDI). This paper discusses the emerging paradigm of interoperable information sharing that is gaining popularity with software developers and professionals.