computer science

RUCAPS

RUCAPS is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand RUCAPS rather than just read about it. In short: RUCAPS (Really Universal Computer-Aided Production System) is a computer-aided design (CAD) system for architects, first developed during the 1970s and 1980s, and today credited as a forerunner of building information modeling (BIM). It runs on minicomputers from Prime Computer and Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC).

Key takeaways

RUCAPS belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect RUCAPS to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of RUCAPS from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

RUCAPS (Really Universal Computer-Aided Production System) is a computer-aided design (CAD) system for architects, first developed during the 1970s and 1980s, and today credited as a forerunner of building information modeling (BIM). It runs on minicomputers from Prime Computer and Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC).

Development The system was initially developed by two graduates of Liverpool University, Dr John Davison and John Watts in the early 1970s. They took their work to architects Gollins Melvin Ward (GMW Architects) in London in the late 1970s, and developed it whilst working on a project for Riyadh University. It became the Really Universal Computer Aided Production System (RUCAPS), and from 1977 was sold through GMW Computers Ltd in several countries worldwide. The term 'building model' (in the sense of BIM as used today) was first used in papers in the mid-1980s: in a 1985 paper by Simon Ruffle, and later in a 1986 paper by Robert Aish - then at GMW Computers - referring to the software's use at London's Heathrow Airport. RUCAPS was a significant milestone in the development of building modellers, selling many hundreds of copies during the early 1980s when CAD was rare and expensive, and introducing thousands of architects to computer aided design. It is regarded as a forerunner to today's BIM software, and is seen by some writers, e.g.: Jerry Laiserin, as the inspiration behind Autodesk's Revit:

While Autodesk Revit may not contain genomic snippets of Reflex code, Revit clearly is spiritual heir to a lineage of BIM "begats" – RUCAPS begat Sonata, Sonata begat Reflex, and Reflex begat Revit. RUCAPS was superseded in the mid-late 1980s by Sonata, developed by former GMW employee Jonathan Ingram. This was sold to T2 Solutions (renamed from GMW Computers in 1987), which was eventually bought by Alias|Wavefront but then "disappeared in a mysterious, corporate black hole, somewhere in eastern Canada in 1992." Ingram then went on to develop Reflex, bought out by Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC) in 1996.

Comparison with BIM In 1984, RUCAPS was described as a 2½ dimensional interactive system, closer to the philosophy of 2D interactive systems such as ARK/2 or DAISY, and concentrating on the rapid production of 2D drawings (plans, elevations and sections). During the early 1980s, Ingram worked on a supplementary 3D file structure for RUCAPS, where, by running a separate program and with manual intervention, a flat 3D file could be generated, allowing the production of perspectives and images. RUCAPS did carry the 'weather vane' concept from UK-based Applied Research's Building Design System, BDS.

The system RUCAPS was a building modelling system. It used the concept, introduced by BDS.

Notes and references

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with RUCAPS

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what RUCAPS claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to RUCAPS before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about RUCAPS ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of RUCAPS

In research: RUCAPS appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses RUCAPS in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: RUCAPS is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Building information modeling, Computer-aided design software, Construction industry in the United Kingdom, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for RUCAPS outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study RUCAPS in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what RUCAPS means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain RUCAPS out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is RUCAPS in simple terms?

Why does RUCAPS matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study RUCAPS?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on RUCAPS.