Comment Re:CAD vectors? (Score 1) 81
Not directly, though Autodesk was involved in the spec (Milt Capsimalis, Autodesk Inc. ).
I am almost finished with a conversion program for our internal use that will export Autocad 2000 (Architectural Desktop) to XML. The xml is used to generate SVG images via Java Server Pages. This program also retains space links from AD so we can query against a database and generate thematic images. This would work for other variants of Autocad too (like Map). I wanted to use an open standard xml file format like the one being pushed by opengis.org, but simply don't have the time to develop that level of compliance.
Autodesk has the Mapguide suite for rendering drawings via the web with a free plug-in. This is a good solution for many, and we use it here, but it has too many limitations to do all that we need.
I spoke to an Autodesk engineer a few weeks ago about this topic and it seems that Autodesk isn't sold completely on the thought of XML document formats, though there does seem to be some interest. Their big fear (reading between the lines) is that if they have a true open standard for their file formats, then they wouldn't be able to lock their customer base in any more.
To me this seems silly. I want to be able to move their files to something better than the whip viewer without paying a per seat license. But I wouldn't dream of going to a different product for editing the source drawings. Contact your Autodesk rep and let them know how you feel about having the ability to export into a true open standard format that isn't bastardized like DXF. If it's XML, then it becomes really easy to convert to SVG.
I am almost finished with a conversion program for our internal use that will export Autocad 2000 (Architectural Desktop) to XML. The xml is used to generate SVG images via Java Server Pages. This program also retains space links from AD so we can query against a database and generate thematic images. This would work for other variants of Autocad too (like Map). I wanted to use an open standard xml file format like the one being pushed by opengis.org, but simply don't have the time to develop that level of compliance.
Autodesk has the Mapguide suite for rendering drawings via the web with a free plug-in. This is a good solution for many, and we use it here, but it has too many limitations to do all that we need.
I spoke to an Autodesk engineer a few weeks ago about this topic and it seems that Autodesk isn't sold completely on the thought of XML document formats, though there does seem to be some interest. Their big fear (reading between the lines) is that if they have a true open standard for their file formats, then they wouldn't be able to lock their customer base in any more.
To me this seems silly. I want to be able to move their files to something better than the whip viewer without paying a per seat license. But I wouldn't dream of going to a different product for editing the source drawings. Contact your Autodesk rep and let them know how you feel about having the ability to export into a true open standard format that isn't bastardized like DXF. If it's XML, then it becomes really easy to convert to SVG.
