AutoCAD

AutoCAD is a commercial software application for 2D and 3D computer-aided design (CAD) anddrafting — available since 1982 as a desktop application and since 2010 as a mobile web- and cloud-based app marketed as AutoCAD 360.

Developed and marketed by Autodesk, AutoCAD was first released in December 1982, running onmicrocomputers with internal graphics controllers. Prior to the introduction of AutoCAD, most commercial CAD programs ran on mainframe computers or minicomputers, with each CAD operator (user) working at a separate graphics terminal.

AutoCAD is used across a wide range of industries, by architects, project managers, engineers, graphic designers, and other professionals. It is supported by 750 training centers worldwide as of 1994.

As Autodesk's flagship product, by March 1986 AutoCAD had become the most ubiquitous CAD program worldwide

History

AutoCAD was derived from a program begun in 1977 and released in 1979 called Interact CAD, also referred to in early Autodesk documents as MicroCAD, which was written prior to Autodesk's (then Marinchip Software Partners) formation by Autodesk cofounder Mike Riddle.

The first version by Autodesk was demonstrated at the 1982 Comdex and released that December. The 2016 release marked the 30th major release of AutoCAD for Windows. The 2014 release marked the fourth consecutive year of AutoCAD for Mac.

AutoCAD LT

AutoCAD LT is the lower cost version of AutoCAD, with reduced capabilities, first released in November 1993. Autodesk developed AutoCAD LT to have an entry-level CAD package to compete in the lower price level. AutoCAD LT, priced at $495, became the first AutoCAD product priced below $1000. It is sold directly by Autodesk and can also be purchased at computer stores (unlike the full version of AutoCAD, which must be purchased from official Autodesk dealers).

As of the 2011 release the AutoCAD LT MSRP has risen to $1200. While there are hundreds of small differences between the full AutoCAD package and AutoCAD LT, there are a few recognized major differences^[14] in the software's features:

• 3D Capabilities: AutoCAD LT lacks the ability to create, visualize and render 3D models as well as 3D printing.
• Network Licensing: AutoCAD LT cannot be used on multiple machines over a network.
• Customization: AutoCAD LT does not support customization with LISP, ARX, and VBA.
• Management and automation capabilities with Sheet Set Manager and Action Recorder.
• CAD standards management tools.

AutoCAD LT 2015 introduced Desktop Subscription from $360 per year

AutoCAD 360

Formerly marketed as AutoCAD WS, AutoCAD 360 is an account-based mobile and web application enabling registered users to view, edit, and share AutoCAD files via mobile device and web using a limited AutoCAD feature set — and using cloud-stored drawing files. The program, which is an evolution and combination of previous products, uses a freemium business model with a free plan and two paid levels — marketed as Pro ($4.99 monthly or $49.99 yearly) and Pro Plus ($99.99 yearly) — including various amounts of storage, tools, and online access to drawings. 360 includes new features such as a "Smart Pen" mode and linking to third-party cloud-based storage such as Dropbox. Having evolved from Flash-based software, AutoCAD 360 uses HTML5 browser technology available in newer browsers including Firefox and Google Chrome.

AutoCAD WS began with a version for the iPhone and subsequently expanded to include versions for the iPod Touch, iPad, Android phones, and Android tablets.Autodesk released the iOS version in September 2010, following with the Android version on April 20, 2011. The program is available via download at no cost from the App Store (iOS), Google Play (Android) and Amazon Appstore (Android).

In its initial iOS version, AutoCAD WS supported drawing of lines, circles, and other shapes; creation of text and comment boxes; and management of color, layer, and measurements — in both landscape and portrait modes. Version 1.3, released August 17, 2011, added support of unit typing, layer visibility, area measurement and file management. The Android variant includes the iOS feature set along with such unique features as the ability to insert text or captions by voice command as well as manually. Both Android and iOS versions allow the user to save files on-line — or off-line in the absence of an Internet connection.

In 2011, Autodesk announced plans to migrate the majority of its software to "the cloud", starting with the AutoCAD WS mobile application.

According to a 2013 interview with Ilai Rotbaein, an AutoCAD WS Product Manager for Autodesk, the name AutoCAD WS had no definitive meaning, and was interpreted variously as Autodesk Web Service, White Sheet or Work Space.

Student versions

AutoCAD is licensed, for free, to qualifying students and teachers, with a 18-month renewable license available. The student version of AutoCAD is functionally identical to the full commercial version, with one exception: DWG files created or edited by a student version have an internal bit-flag set (the "educational flag"). When such a DWG file is printed by any version of AutoCAD (commercial or student) older than AutoCAD 2014 SP1, the output includes a plot stamp / banner on all four sides. Objects created in the Student Version cannot be used for commercial use. Student Version objects "infect" a commercial version DWG file if it is imported in older versions than AutoCAD 2015.

The Autodesk Education Community provides registered students and faculty with free access to different Autodesk applications.

Android

Autodesk AutoCAD 360 is the official AutoCAD mobile app for Android

Microsoft Windows

AutoCAD is a software package created for Windows and usually any new AutoCAD version supports the current Windows version and some older ones. AutoCAD 2016 supports Windows 7 up to Windows 8.1

Mac OS

Autodesk stopped supporting Apple's computers in 1994. Over the next several years, no compatible versions for Macintosh computers were released. In 2010 Autodesk announced that it would once again support Apple's Mac OS X software in the future.Most of the features found in the 2012 Windows version can be found in the 2012 Mac version. The main difference is the user interface and layout of the program. The interface is designed so that users who are already familiar with Apple's OS X software will find it similar to other Mac applications.Autodesk has also built in various features in order to take full advantage of Apple's Trackpad capabilities as well as the full-screen mode in Apple's OS X Lion.AutoCAD 2012 for Mac supports both the editing and saving of files in DWG formatting that will allow the file to be compatible with other platforms besides the OS X. AutoCAD 2014 for Mac supports Apple Mac OS X v10.9.0 or later (Mavericks), OS X v10.8.0 or later (Mountain Lion) with 64-bit Intel processor.

AutoCAD LT 2013 is now available through the Mac App Store for $899.99. The full featured version of AutoCAD 2013 for Mac, however, is not available through the Mac App Store due to the price limit of $999 set by Apple. AutoCAD 2014 for Mac is available for purchase from Autodesk's Web site for $4,195 and AutoCAD LT 2014 for Mac for $1,200, or from an Autodesk Authorized Reseller

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GstarCAD

GstarCAD is a CAD (Computer Aided Design or Computer Aided Drafting) software platform, using the Open Design Alliance DWG libraries to read and write the DWG file format made popular by the AutoCAD CAD package.

GstarCAD is a capable alternative^[1] to other well-known CAD packages on the market, and provides OpenDWG file compatibility, as well as an interface which is very similar to that of AutoCAD

There software comes in "standard", "academic" and "professional" versions, and is available in English, Spanish, German, French, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Czech, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Hungarian, French, etc

Apart from DWG support files can be exported to DXF. Gstarsoft has also released versions for mobile devices called GstarCAD MC which runs on iOS and Android. GstarCAD's GRX API means that software written for AutoCADs ARX API can run on both without changes to the code

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Enterprise application integration

Enterprise application integration (EAI) is the use of software and computer systems' architectural principles to integrate a set of enterprise computer applications.

Overview

Enterprise application integration is an integration framework composed of a collection of technologies and services which form a middleware or "middleware framework" to enable integration of systems and applications across an enterprise.

Many types of business software such as supply chain management applications, ERP systems, CRM applications for managing customers, business intelligenceapplications, payroll and human resources systems typically cannot communicate with one another in order to share data or business rules. For this reason, such applications are sometimes referred to as islands of automation or information silos. This lack of communication leads to inefficiencies, wherein identical data are stored in multiple locations, or straightforward processes are unable to be automated.

Enterprise application integration is the process of linking such applications within a single organization together in order to simplify and automate business processes to the greatest extent possible, while at the same time avoiding having to make sweeping changes to the existing applications or data structures. Applications can be linked either at the back-end (database) or the front-end (GUI).

In the words of the Gartner Group, EAI is the "unrestricted sharing of data and business processes among any connected application or data sources in the enterprise."

The various systems that need to be linked together may reside on different operating systems, use different database solutions or computer languages, or different date and time formats, or may be legacy systems that are no longer supported by the vendor who originally created them. In some cases, such systems are dubbed "stovepipe systems" because they consist of components that have been jammed together in a way that makes it very hard to modify them in any way.

Improving connectivity

If integration is applied without following a structured EAI approach, point-to-point connections grow across an organization. Dependencies are added on an impromptu basis, resulting in a complex structure that is difficult to maintain. This is commonly referred to as spaghetti, an allusion to the programming equivalent of spaghetti code. For example:

The number of connections needed to have fully meshed point-to-point connections, with  points, is given by  (see binomial coefficient). Thus, for ten applications to be fully integrated point-to-point, , or 45 point-to-point connections are needed.

However the number of connections within organizations does not grow according to the square of the number points. In general, the number of connections to any point is independent of the number of other points in an organization. (Thought experiment: if an additional point is added to your organization, are you aware of it? Does it increase the number of connections other unrelated points have?) There are a small number of "collection" points for which this does not apply, but these do not require EAI patterns to manage.

EAI can also increase coupling between systems and therefore increase management overhead and costs.

However, EAI is not just about sharing data between applications; it focuses on sharing both business data and business process. A middleware analyst attending to EAI may also look at the system of systems.

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CGram Software

CGram Software is a software authoring company established in 1982. It provides accounting software, enterprise resource planning (ERP), CRM, production control and supply chain management software for small to medium-sized companies, and has a long history in the UNIX and Linux commercial world.

History

CGram Software was founded by Emrys Jones and Terry Crook in 1982. They started developing a Unix manufacturing system. Jones was at that time being actively involved with UKUUG (the UK's Unix & Open Systems User Group), becoming temporary chairman in 1982 and was Chairman of the European Unix User Group until 1985

CGram Software started shipping the first Unix Manufacturing system in 1984 written in 'C',^[4] being sold on Plexus and Arete machines. These were Motorola MC68000 based machines. The problem with the MC68000 was that every manufacturer had their own system of memory addressing, which made portability a challenge for software add-on vendors. To solve this CGram introduced their '68000Fix' product, which processed the relocation information in a program and converted the program to work on the required target. This allowed CGram to offer their Manufacturing system on a variety of other MC68000 systems, such as Fortune & Sperry.

This system implemented a just-in-time business model with Supplier Chain management for synchronous supply in 1987. The implementation at Ikeda Hoover was the subject of a case study into manufacturing for synchronous supply in 2002. It was later extended with a full Kanban system for final assembly in 1990.

In 1998 the company discontinued its original manufacturing system, developing a new ERP system with a desktop client written in Java and Swing communicating over the internet with server side software written in C.

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