Which one?

Hi guys,

I've been really enjoying all the talk going about,
and am learning as much as I can without having a machine
up and running at the moment, but have a question.

I have access to many different CAM programs
from a few different places. (work and friend's shops)

My question is this:
Will these output acceptable code to the type of stuff
we are working with, in regards to the specific dialects
of G-code used by the translators available?

I have access to these products -
SmartCAM (v.10 & 11)
Solid Edge
Solid Works
Pro E
and a few others I can't seem to recall the names of.
(it's early and I can't find the coffee)

I have used each of these before, but only for a short time,
and it was a few years ago, so by now I've lost anything I'd
learned about using them and will have to re-learn it all over again.
I'm willing to do this if they are useable,
but would like to know beforehand if it's possible.

Or would I be better of using Acad2k and using a G-code
generator from the file it creates?
On first glance, this doesn't seem to be that efficient.
For one, how would it know your start point and
desired direction of cutter path (conventional vs. climb milling)?

Thanks,

Weyland