[cad-linux] Re: 2D versus 3D thoughts
- From: "Jeffrey McGrew" <JMcGrew@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <cad-linux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 10:47:47 -0800
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Guy Edwards [mailto:guy_j_edwards@xxxxxxxxxx]
>=20
> What about a hint? I'll have to do it the really long way=20
> otherwise.....
Well, another fact could be that AutoDesk themselves
seem to be moving away from DWG as the 'standard' format,
and instead towards a common publishing format, 'DWF'.
DWF is more like a PDF in that it doesn't matter what
the underlying program was that made it, it will be
able to be viewed by anyone.
This, IMHO, is a good thing, for the DWG format
is starting to become the tower of Babel. Due to
all the add-ons, plug-ins, and third-party applications
that run within AutoCAD, and add their own data
to the DWG format (sometimes in strange ways)
the DWG format is getting rather fragmented.
Let me put it to you this way: we had a problem
file that came in from a subcontractor that was
crashing our systems here when the user was trying
to work with it. When our CAD manager took the file
apart and inspected it in detail it had extra data
from EIGHT different third party systems, some of
which dated back YEARS.
It's almost viral, in that
any of the drawing content that was edited, and
sometimes even loaded, using one of these AutoCAD
systems that had extra tools running was getting
extra data added to it by said extra tool, which
as then getting copied to people that weren't
in turn running the same add-ons.
So, this file that we got from a FURNITURE person
had extra data in it from AutoDesk Map, Softdesk 8,
Accurender, and more. Things that had nothing
to do with furniture!
It's gotten to the point where it's affecting
AutoDesk systems; in that I can't open a file
in my AutoCAD 2000 that was done with Architectural
Desktop, an enhanced-AutoCAD, without special
add-ons that I have to download, and I have to
have the right one for the kind of drawing I'll
be opening otherwise my system will crash out.
So, even AutoDesk is starting to have some
serous problems getting their various platforms
to talk to each other, even thought they are
all using DWG!
So, personally, I think it's a good thing that
AutoDesk may be moving away from DWG and toward
a more 'published' solution, for I really like
being able to use whatever system I want to but
still be able to share and provide data to others.
Only downside to DWF is that it's completely
owned by AutoDesk, and they will most likely use
that leverage in the future the same way they
did with the DWG format to their advantage.
Jeffrey McGrew
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