What is IfcOpenShell WebAssembly and why should you care about it?
IfcOpenShell is an open source IFC toolkit and geometry engine. It allows you to read, write, and modify Building Information Models using IFC.
It’s the software library behind an up and coming project called BlenderBIM.
Why is IfcOpenShell WebAssembly such a big deal?
It’s IfcOpenShell compiled to run in your browser at near native speed using WebAssembly. In other words, the full power of IfcOpenShell running in your browser, with no server-side code, it’s all running locally in your browser.
Why is this good for making BIM more open?
IfcOpenShell is one of the leading open source BIM projects. By making it run natively in the browser, it opens up a host of possibilities for creating browser-based apps that can not only read but also author BIM models.
You can find the project here on Github.
Some potential applications:
- Native IFC authoring in a browser
- Extracting IFC data in the browser from Javascript/Python
IfcOpenShell and its WebAssembly version are definitely something to keep an eye on if you are interested in OpenBIM!
In the next article, we’ll dive into an example of using this library to create a simple wall.