Crate ifc_author 

ifc-author — schema-checked construction and editing of IFC entities.

Why this is not part of ifc-model

ifc_model::Model::push takes a type name and a positional Vec<Value>. That is the right primitive for a codec, which is reproducing a record it just parsed, and the wrong one for an application, which is inventing a record and has no way to know it got the arity right.

The fix is not typed setters on Model: the model is the L0 record core and must not depend on the schema tables. Authoring is therefore an L2 concern that borrows both. See ADR 0007.

What is checked

Failure	Example
Unknown entity	IfcAnnotaton (typo)
Unknown attribute	IfcAnnotation.Nmae
Attribute set twice	two Name calls
Required attribute unset	IfcAnnotation with no GlobalId
Declared-type mismatch	a string where IfcLengthMeasure is declared
Value form (ISO 10303-21)	IFCAREAMEASURE(12.5) where IfcAreaMeasure, not a SELECT, is declared; a bare 1. where IfcValue is
Scalar/aggregate confusion	a scalar where LIST OF is declared
Malformed GlobalId	not 22 characters in IFC’s base-64 alphabet

Slot positions come from ifc_schema::Schema::attributes, which returns inherited attributes first — the ordering STEP records depend on.

What is not checked

WHERE rules, inverse attributes, uniqueness, and cross-entity consistency. Those need a whole model rather than one entity, and ifc-validate owns them. This crate refuses obviously-wrong construction; it does not certify a valid file.

Example

use ifc_author::EntityBuilder;
use ifc_model::Model;
use ifc_schema::Schema;

let schema = Schema::from_express(
    "SCHEMA IFC4;\n\
     TYPE IfcGloballyUniqueId = STRING; END_TYPE;\n\
     TYPE IfcLabel = STRING; END_TYPE;\n\
     ENTITY IfcAnnotation;\n\
       GlobalId : IfcGloballyUniqueId;\n\
       Name : OPTIONAL IfcLabel;\n\
     END_ENTITY;\n\
     END_SCHEMA;",
);

let mut model = Model::new();
let id = EntityBuilder::new(&schema, "IfcAnnotation")
    .text("GlobalId", "3vB2YO$MX4xv5uCqZZG05x")
    .text("Name", "Brandwand")
    .insert(&mut model)?;

assert_eq!(model.get(id).unwrap().text(1), Some("Brandwand"));

Structs

ApplicationDraft

Authored fields for IfcApplication.

EntityBuilder

A partially-specified entity, checked against the schema on build.

EntityEditor

A schema-checked edit of one entity already present in a Model.

OrganizationDraft

Authored fields for IfcOrganization.

OwnerHistoryDraft

Authored fields for IfcOwnerHistory.

PersonDraft

Authored fields for IfcPerson.

Enums

AuthorError

A refused construction.

Functions

add_application

Stage an IfcApplication, the authoring tool recorded in ownership.

add_organization

Stage an IfcOrganization. Name is required by the schema.

add_owner_history

Stage an IfcOwnerHistory.

add_person

Stage an IfcPerson.

add_person_and_organization

Stage an IfcPersonAndOrganization, the IfcActorSelect used by IfcOwnerHistory.OwningUser.

Type Aliases

AuthorResult

The result of a construction attempt.