Hong Kong, ROC
The .dwg file format was introduced to the world by Autodesk in 1982 as the native file format of its AutoCAD software. For the next 20+ years, millions of .dwg data was created by the hugely successful AutoCAD but it was all 2D data. During this time, 3d was the exclusive preserve of high-end software running on work-stations like HP, Sun, IBM and the like. Even after the Windows era began in 1995, 3D continued to be dominated by specialist software like SolidWorks, CATIA & Pro/E. The de facto industry standard for design data, namely .dwg and .dxf were still largely confined to 2d representation. The inevitable and given assumption was that 3D required proprietary formats and .dwg could not support it. As a result, both the .dwg as well as AutoCAD became synonymous with 2d. That tag refused to go away despite AutoCAD (and all other new .dwg entrants by then) started advancing into the 3D world and introduced solids modeling, rendering and non-CAD data embedded into their native platforms.
By now, the .dwg format ceased to be "Autodesk" owned and transformed into a common exchange format for the entire design industry. Organizations like the Open Design Alliance provided the much needed support to extend and enhance the usability of .dwg files.
First came the ACIS solids from Spatial which were native 3D objects and could be represented within .dwg. Extensive use of drawing data dictionaries, extended entity data, external references, reactors and other advanced stuff enabled software to be written that performed much beyond what the olden days .dwg platforms could imagine. Complex relationships between drawing entities, crucial for the success of any BIM, 3d modeling or Sheet Metal enabled software like BricsCAD to achieve what it has done today. A lot of credit goes to the Open Design Alliance for the successful implementation of software like BricsCAD.
In the ever changing paradigm of delivery of services and technology, the time has come to look deeply what you can do today with the .dwg platform. Today, you can do a lot with .dwg. The platform has become richer with extended API support. Compatibility with other software is fully guaranteed. And that is what companies like BricsCAD and hundreds of other third party developers are doing today, making more and more possible under .dwg.
This is the same paradigm shift happening in every sphere of life today. Services considered exclusive until few years back is now brought to the level of a common man, which can be consumed in a personal device. It is exactly the same happening in the CAD world.
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