Congruity provides desktop access to both corporate and IHS-supplied component and document databases, and to raster-scanned images of original manufacturers datasheets, military specifications, industry standards, and vendor catalogs across a network of any size. To do this effectively, Congruity employs a distributed client-server computing model in which desktop clients request both services and data from database and image servers. This architecture fully exploits the computing power of the desktop, provides maximum flexibility, and minimizes traffic across the network.
The most recently requested image pages are cached either to RAM or to magnetic disk, making subsequent requests for the same image page by any client much faster. Image pages are transmitted from the image server to the requesting client as Group IV compressed TIFF files. Each page is decompressed and viewed on the client. Individual pages are sent on demand, so the user does not have to wait for an entire document to be transmitted before viewing the first page.
When images are printed to a TIFF-compatible printer, compressed TIFF images are sent to the print queue and then decompressed and printed by hardware on-board the printer.
Congruity also provides an Application Programming Interface (API) to access component information. The API provides a rich set of OC -callable functions, which surface all of the functionality of the application and the underlying database. The API is used by the Congruity GUI, but can also be used to seamlessly integrate Congruity into other applications, including CAE, PDM or legacy systems.
Network traffic is minimized between the client and the servers. The system specifically avoids using NFS to access CD-ROMs, and transmis only decompressed images across the network. Furthermore, because Congruity directly supports the most commonly needed client platforms, the need to use X Windows protocol is significantly reduced.
The client process does not require significant system resources, meaning it can be deployed across a wide variety of computing platforms already in use across most corporations, without requiring costly hardware upgrades.
Integration of Congruity with other corporate or third party software systems is possible, because the API surfaces all of the capabilities of the application.
Information Handling Services 15 Inverness Way East P.O. Box 1154 Englewood, Colorado 80150-1154 USA Phone: 800-716-3447, ext. 200 303-790-0600, ext. 59 Fax: 800-716-6447 303-397-2410 (International Sales) E-Mail: info@ ihs.com Web: http://www.ihs.com/
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