STEP Libraries

STEP is the current standard for exchange of CAD data between different software packages. BRL-CAD makes use of the NIST STEP Class Libraries code to support its step-g converter, but this source code was written before many current C++ standard practices and libraries were finalized. As a consequence, it needs both cleanup and performance enhancements.

For this project, a student should examine the existing STEP code in BRL-CAD (src/other/step) and create a list of tasks that need to be done in order to modernize the C++, improve library performance, improve code maintainability, and better document the STEP libraries. BRL-CAD's step-g converter will serve as a test for the functionality of the library.

Specific items to remember:

• The libraries should compile with strict compiler flags, as used in recent BRL-CAD compilations.
• The generated source code files should be usable "out of the box" for step-g (we currently use a hand-tweaked version of the generated files in the step-g converter build)
• Large files need to be handled quickly, so performance is important - this could be as simple as modernizing string handling, but if there are more fundamental issues they will need to be addressed as well.
• BRL-CAD makes use of the doxygen system for source code documentation, so organizing source code documentation in the step libraries to work well with doxygen should be part of the review and updating process.

Improving this library is a good project for students looking for a geometry related project with potential impact beyond BRL-CAD - other open source geometry projects are also likely to be interested in STEP conversion.

Requirements:

• Familiarity with C++ (will need to be able to both understand older C++ and how to express it in more "modern" style)

Difficulty: low