Abstract
The Computer Group of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill began investigating the use of knowledge based systems in 1986. The structural programmers saw a great need for more extensibility, flexibility, and maintainability in programs for designing and checking code compliance of structural members. The resulting development effort brought about the design and implementation of a shell known as the Rule-Based Calculator. Five member design applications have been built with the Rule-Based Calculator. These include steel beam/columns, steel base plates, steel panel zone connections, concrete beams, and concrete columns. At the time of writing, these five applications near the end of testing and will soon be released for general use in the design studios. Herein, we document the reasons for this approach and our observations on the implementation process and its results.
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