<s>
Computer-aided	B-Architecture
architectural	I-Architecture
design	I-Architecture
(	O
CAAD	B-Architecture
)	O
software	B-Application
programs	O
are	O
the	O
repository	O
of	O
accurate	O
and	O
comprehensive	O
records	O
of	O
buildings	O
and	O
are	O
used	O
by	O
architects	B-Application
and	O
architectural	O
companies	O
for	O
architectural	O
design	O
and	O
architectural	O
engineering	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
latter	O
often	O
involve	O
floor	B-Application
plan	I-Application
designs	O
CAAD	B-Architecture
software	B-Application
greatly	O
simplies	O
this	O
task	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
program	O
was	O
created	O
back	O
in	O
the	O
1960s	O
to	O
increase	O
architects	B-Application
 '	O
productivity	O
,	O
which	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
was	O
held	O
back	O
by	O
manual	O
drawing	O
of	O
blueprints	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer-aided	B-Application
design	I-Application
also	O
known	O
as	O
CAD	B-Application
was	O
originally	O
the	O
type	O
of	O
program	O
that	O
architects	B-Application
used	O
,	O
but	O
since	O
CAD	B-Application
could	O
not	O
offer	O
all	O
the	O
tools	O
that	O
architects	B-Application
needed	O
to	O
complete	O
a	O
project	O
,	O
CAAD	B-Architecture
developed	O
as	O
a	O
distinct	O
class	O
of	O
software	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
All	O
CAD	B-Application
and	O
CAAD	B-Architecture
systems	O
employ	O
a	O
database	O
with	O
geometric	O
and	O
other	O
properties	O
of	O
objects	O
;	O
they	O
all	O
have	O
some	O
kind	O
of	O
graphic	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
to	O
manipulate	O
a	O
visual	O
representation	O
rather	O
than	O
the	O
database	O
;	O
and	O
they	O
are	O
all	O
more	O
or	O
less	O
concerned	O
with	O
assembling	O
designs	O
from	O
standard	O
and	O
non-standard	O
pieces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Currently	O
,	O
the	O
main	O
distinction	O
which	O
causes	O
one	O
to	O
speak	O
of	O
CAAD	B-Architecture
rather	O
than	O
CAD	B-Application
lies	O
in	O
the	O
domain	O
knowledge	O
(	O
architecture-specific	O
objects	O
,	O
techniques	O
,	O
data	O
,	O
and	O
process	O
support	O
)	O
embedded	O
in	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
CAAD	B-Architecture
system	O
differs	O
from	O
other	O
CAD	B-Application
systems	O
in	O
two	O
respects	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
more	O
general	O
sense	O
,	O
CAAD	B-Architecture
also	O
refers	O
to	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
any	O
computational	O
technique	O
in	O
the	O
field	O
of	O
architectural	O
design	O
other	O
than	O
by	O
means	O
of	O
architecture-specific	O
software	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
software	B-Application
which	O
is	O
specifically	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
computer	O
animation	O
industry	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Nowadays	O
real-time	B-General_Concept
rendering	I-General_Concept
is	O
being	O
popular	O
thanks	O
to	O
the	O
developments	O
in	O
graphic	O
cards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
exact	O
distinction	O
of	O
what	O
properly	O
belongs	O
to	O
CAAD	B-Architecture
is	O
not	O
always	O
clear	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specialized	O
software	B-Application
,	O
for	O
example	O
for	O
calculating	O
structures	O
by	O
means	O
of	O
the	O
finite	B-Application
element	I-Application
method	I-Application
,	O
is	O
used	O
in	O
architectural	O
design	O
and	O
in	O
that	O
sense	O
may	O
fall	O
under	O
CAAD	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
such	O
software	B-Application
is	O
seldom	O
used	O
to	O
create	O
new	O
designs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1974	O
Caad	B-Architecture
became	O
a	O
current	O
word	O
and	O
was	O
a	O
common	O
topic	O
of	O
commercial	O
modernization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CAAD	B-Architecture
has	O
two	O
types	O
of	O
structures	O
in	O
its	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
advantage	O
to	O
CAAD	B-Architecture
is	O
the	O
two	O
way	O
mapping	O
of	O
activities	O
and	O
functionalities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
mappings	O
are	O
abstractions	O
that	O
are	O
introduced	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
discuss	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
design	O
and	O
deployment	O
of	O
CAAD	B-Architecture
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
architect	B-Application
's	O
work	O
involves	O
mostly	O
visually	O
represented	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
