Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] CAD for linux ?

currinh@... wrote:

> I'm still trying to abandon Windows in favor of Linux.
> An ongoing saga.

The "saga" depends on your flexibility. E.g., if you wish to
maintain 100% Microsoft Office for Windows compatibility, you cannot
even go to Mac running Microsoft Office for Mac! Hence why even if
MS Office was available for Linux, it would suck and be as
incompatible as MS Office for Mac. I'll end my argument there,
assuming everyone sees the underlying point I'm trying to make.
;-PPP

> Is anyone using a linux based CAD package? I'd like to
> hear your experiences and recomnedations. I see there
> is at least one out there, LinuxCAD proported to be AutoCAD
> compatible.

The problem with AutoCAD compatibility is same one with Microsoft
Office compatibility:

- Little version backward compatibility (i.e. usually only one
version back, and usually not all elements come in verbatim)
- Forced version upgrading (the one should be obvious, usually as a
result of the previous issue)
- Less than compatible "lite" versions (e.g., MS Works / AutoCAD LT)
- Platform-agnostic -- which was a result of the Microsoft-Visio
fiasco (long story)

As such, I don't consider AutoCAD any more of an "industry standard"
than I do MS Office -- even putting their "bloated cost" aside in
the argument. A standard means that the underlying file format and
data is actually well documented and changes little -- let alone can
be reproduced verbatim between versions.

> This one is $100 so I hate to just try it without asking.
> Any other suggestions?

Yes, BRL-CAD. It is a CSG/modeling program that runs on various
flavors of UNIX. It has various export and external program
interfaces for stress and other mechanical analysis. Unfortunately,
I think you'll find it less than adequate as an AutoCAD-compatible
drawing platform. But here's the URL if you are still interested:
http://ftp.arl.mil/brlcad/

-- theBS

--
Bryan "TheBS" Smith mailto:b.j.smith@... chat:thebs413
Engineer AbsoluteValue Systems, Inc. http://www.linux-wlan.org
President SmithConcepts, Inc. http://www.SmithConcepts.com