Simplifying the Analysis of Building Information Models Using tQL4BIM and vQL4BIM

This paper presents a new approach to analyse Building Information Models. Firstly, a domain-specific language in its textual notation is introduced. It is tailored to domain experts with little programming experience. Based on an uncomplicated pattern, the language offers a formal and general method of BIM-analysis. Additionally, its imperative nature and its sequential layout makes a stepwise execution and inspection of intermediate results possible. Thus, complex queries may consist of comprehensible and verifiable statements. As an alternative to textual definitions, we introduce a visual notation for BIM queries. Both the textual and the visual notation are based on the identical abstract syntax and offer the same range of functionalities