The need for an up-to-date building product data is very important issue in construction industry. Both for suppliers who provide and update these informations, and the customers for example contractors) who enquire them. However the existing hard copy catalogues of building products, or even the ones which are stored on a CD-ROM have several disadvantages. Among them are expensive, out-of-date information, difficult to update by suppliers, etc. The solution to these problems lies in an on-line system that can be accessed by both suppliers and customers. Multi Media Product Selector (MMPS) which is described in this paper is such a system. MMPS is a distributed database system holding information on manufacturer's specific product data together with bibliographic information. It is a shared product database which will be accessible by firms with network capabilities within the construction industry. The system is based on X.500 Directory System as a navigation engine for the distributed data. The system is implemented using QUIPU; an implementation of the 1988 standard for CCITT/X.500. This paper represents a progress report on the development effort of this system. The directory system model is described with some of the services used in the system. The data structures of the system is explained, and finally the need for such system, its usage, and advantages are highlighted.

purchase the full-text of this paper (price £20)

go to the previous paper
go to the next paper
return to the table of contents
return to the book description
purchase this book (price £60 +P&P)