[cad-linux] Re: cad-linux still alive [if only on life-support...
- From: "Lars O. Grobe" <grobe@xxxxxxx>
- To: cad-linux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:06:43 +0800
Hi!
> The one feature that MUST be there is the ability to open .dwg files.
> Anything that cannot do this in recent autodesk
> formats is a non-starter as far as government goes. We often receive cad
> drawings from developers and outside
> engineers that we have to be able to open here to make use of their data.
I know the user perspective, being an architect I suffer from the
problems not to be able to open DWG-drawings often enough.
Still, this feature is what will never happen. It does not make sense.
DWG is the result of the fact that Autodesk does not want to use an
open, royalty free standard for their products. They have reasons to do
so - I have seen lots of licenses being bought from them only for the
one reason, that people HAVE to upgrade because the format changes every
few years. And while people say "dwg-standard" in the meaning of "as
long as you save your file in Autocad everyone will be able to open it",
the truth is that there are dozens of Autocad-formats, and people, while
keeping the illusion of "compatibility", pay just for the right to open
their files.
If the open source community would use this format as their native standard,
1) they would always be at least one step behing
2) they would always have the less powerful support, as dwg is made for
Autocad
3) they would pay with their developer ressources to strengthen Autocad,
while Autodesk earns money from the fact they only offer their own
propietary format
The result would be a perception like dwg being an open standard of all
CADs (but under conditions that I would not call fair), with users being
frustrated from open-source, which would always look like the kind of
software which is not able to open cad files. Besides that, it would
encourage people keeping their data (and this is their property) in a
propietary format. At the same time, people would not even have the
choice to escape from this.
Opendocument is a strong example what support for open standards means.
For sure, Microsoft's propietary formats are more used. And for sure,
people will continue wondering why they suddenly get locked out from the
"standard" format they used to store their own work. But all those, who
think about it, get aware of the risks of keeping their property in a
locked box, with the key being exclusively in the hands of one company,
have the choice to take a different approach. And this is much more the
reason why Openoffice gets more popular then license costs etc. - the
format is more important then the application here.
It is for this that I would consider import and export filters for cad a
waste of development ressources. Support for standards such as step,
iges, x3d, whatever comes without the need to sign NDAs and pay licenses
just to access what already belongs to you, is needed. And then, people
can use a converter to get their Autocad 14, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2008,
.... dwg, dxf, ... binary, ascii... or whatever people invented to
prevent you opening your files without paying them converted into an
open standard. Maybe one day, even Autodesk will include an import and
export to CAD-formats, which are not developped by their own company,
into their products again. So far, they only removed any kind of format
step by step that was enabling people to export into any software not
sold by Autodesk. Have a look at what was available in Autocad 14 and
what is available in 2009...
If you say dwg is what I have, and I do not want to change my workflow,
want to keep everything as is, this is fine. It means that you will have
to pay for the access to your data as long as you need it, and the
products are available. An alternative, which is open both in its data
formats and its implementations is being developed for those who do not
agree with todays CAD business model.
Cheers, L.
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