aecXML is a specific XML

XML

Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....

 mark-up language which uses Industry Foundation Classes

Industry Foundation Classes

The Industry Foundation Classes data model is intended to describe building and construction industry data.It is a neutral and open specification that is not controlled by a single vendor or group of vendors...

 to create a vendor-neutral means to access data generated by Building Information Modeling

Building Information Modeling

Building information modeling is the process of generating and managing building data during its life cycle.BIM involves representing a design as objects – vague and undefined, generic or product-specific, solid shapes or void-space oriented , that carry their geometry, relations and attributes...

. It is being developed for use in the Architecture, engineering and construction and facility management

Facility management

Facility management is an interdisciplinary field primarily devoted to the maintenance and care of commercial or institutional buildings, such as hospitals, hotels, office complexes, arenas, schools or convention centers...

 industries, in conjunction with BIM software (e.g. Autodesk

Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that focuses on 3D design software for use in the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media and entertainment industries. The company was founded in 1982 by John Walker, a coauthor of the first versions of the company's...

 Revit

Revit

Autodesk Revit Architecture often referred to as simply Revit is a Building Information Modeling software developed by Autodesk. It allows the user to design with both parametric 3D modeling and 2D drafting elements...

 Building), and is trademarked by the International Alliance for Interoperability, a council of the National Institute of Building Sciences

National Institute of Building Sciences

The National Institute of Building Sciences is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that successfully brings together representatives of government, the professions, industry, labor and consumer interests, and regulatory agencies to focus on the identification and resolution of problems and...

.

Specific subsets are being developed, namely:

• Common Object Schema
• Infrastructure
  Infrastructure
  Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
  
  
• Structural
  Structural engineering
  Structural engineering is a field of engineering dealing with the analysis and design of structures that support or resist loads. Structural engineering is usually considered a specialty within civil engineering, but it can also be studied in its own right....
  
  
• Facility management
  Facility management
  Facility management is an interdisciplinary field primarily devoted to the maintenance and care of commercial or institutional buildings, such as hospitals, hotels, office complexes, arenas, schools or convention centers...
  
  
• Procurement
  Procurement
  Procurement is the acquisition of goods or services. It is favourable that the goods/services are appropriate and that they are procured at the best possible cost to meet the needs of the purchaser in terms of quality and quantity, time, and location...
  
  
• Project Management
  Project management
  Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value...
  
  
• Plant Operations
  Physical plant
  Physical plant or mechanical plant refers to the necessary infrastructure used in support and maintenance of a given facility. The operation of these facilities, or the department of an organization which does so, is called "plant operations" or facility management...
  
  
• Building Environmental Performance

Internal links

• Wikipedia Article on IFCs

External links

• National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) buildingSMART Alliance (bSa)
• Model Support Group (MSG) of NIBS bSa Responsible for AEC Industry Foundation Class (IFC) Development since ~2006

Links Obsolete by July 2009 at the latest:

• North American Chapter of the International Alliance for Interoperability
• Proposed common objects - a PDF file