The 2015 Teigha Developer Conference in Prague

Issue #873

 

by Ralph Grabowski The Open Design Alliance is best known for its broad support of the DWG file format, as well as Microstation DGN, PRC PDF, and other formats useful to CAD vendors -- on a half-dozen operating systems. Even Autodesk doesn't provide this level of support for DWG.   Historic town center of Prague   For the second September in a row, the ODA hosted in Prague an annual meeting of its employees and members from around the world. This year, some CAD journalists were also invited. But because the topics included developments to be revealed in the future, we could not report on everything.    We heard on the first day status reports on the many areas in which the ODA is active.  Status and future plans for the Teigha platform New features in Teigha core PDF export improvements in Teigha core Web rendering architecture and guidelines for Teigha cloud Introduction to Teigha PRC New vectorization features in Teigha core 3D kernel for Teigha   Member services Documentation Quality   New features in Teigha.net and Java Teigha for mobile platforms Overview and new features in Teigha architecture and civil With such a full list, each presentation was just 20-30 minutes long, and so things moved along snappily. "Teigha" is the name of the ODA's DWG and DGN APIs. Note that the API doesn't just read and write drawing files; entire CAD systems are being built on it, and so it is a platform. "Those who build CAD systems on Teigha are now seeing vertical apps being added by third-party developers," said ODA president Neil Peterson during his keynote. Day 2 facilitated a wonderful concept: the entire day was given over to small group meetings and one-to-one chats. Meetings between Teigha developers and members of the ODA could be arranged formally or occur informally. During this time, we CAD journalists interviewed the ODA CEO and one of its members.   Opening keynote by ODA ceo Neil Peterson   Status and Future Plans for the Teigha Platform "Today, we are no longer just an import-export library," said Mr Peterson. "Teigha is a full development framework, upon which CAD systems can be built, including custom aware objects built on the extensible object model." The result of 16 years work by this nearly invisible technical consortium and its 1,250 members is millions of users of thousands of applications that otherwise would not exist. When the ODA was first formed, Autodesk ceo firmly stated his opposition to opening the DWG format to third-party developers. He insisted that the ASCII-based DXF format was good enough, even though Autodesk had encrypted portions of it. Only after the ODA proved to be a success did Autodesk release its competing RealDWG API. So, thank the ODA for convincing Autodesk to open up, and for the constellation of software enabled by Teigha. (I must note here that the ODA was not at all the first to figure out the content of a DWG file. Half a dozen individuals and firms began in the late 1980s to crack the binary format, such as Cyco Automation of The Netherlands and Cimmetry Systems of Canada; Teigha was based on the DWG libraries developed originally by Matt Richards. Microstation in the mid-1990s is heralded as the very first CAD program to import and export DWG files directly, instead of just using DXF.)   About Open Design Alliance "We are a development organization," explained Mr Peterson, "and the qualities that guide our organization are quality, transparency (we publish our plans every six months), accessibility (chances are you will speak to the guy who wrote the code), and agility using a scrum-based rapid development process." ODA uses VMware to manage the virtualization of all the platforms and configurations and compilers at a professionally-managed data center in Arizona. Most of the programmers are stationed in Russia; Mr Peterson himself is the organization's former chief technology officer. The platforms they support are Windows, OSX, Linux, Android, and iOS, along with deprecated platforms like Windows CE and RT, on which software runs that some members continue to support. Having portable code makes it easy to maintain seven operating systems.       Article continues following this advertisement... Sponsor: Siemens PLM Software Try Solid Edge for Free Now you can try a fully loaded version of Solid Edge with no obligation. Discover how the Solid Edge 3D design system provides the speed and simplicity of direct modeling with the flexibility and control of parametric design -- all in one easy-to-use package. Download the 45-Day trial. Or call 800-807-2200 ...article now continues. The other thing the ODA does is integrate libraries from other software developers. Members decide whether to make use of them; if so, they license them separately:  Dassault Spatial (ACIS) ASCON C3D Labs (3D modeling kernel) Techsoft 3D (HOOPS export) Redway3D (rendering with real-time ray tracing) Visual Integrity (PDF) Ledas (constraints and parameters) Siemens PLM (also constraints and parameters) CEO Oleg Zykov of C3D Labs explaining solid modeling options available from ODA   ODA's Future Direction Expand the platform. Seven platforms are not enough. ODA is working on server-based versions (a.k.a. the cloud) and PRC (3D PDF). It already has 3D model rendering working, and so the next step is CAD functions. Teigha Cloud uses the LLG metafile format that contains geometry and rendering instructions; users can create their own metafiles. It uses NodeJS for Linux and ASP.Net on Windows; the functionality is similar and so users can switch between them.  I was surprised to see that Android and iOS come on so many hardware platforms. I counted 15 architectures that ODA supports. At the Teigha Developer Conference we got a preview of a Teigha-based viewer running on Android, quickly zooming and rotating a 3D model of a bright yellow mobile crane. ODA is not building any mobile apps; rather, it is providing the toolkits and simple apps to show that it works. Mr Peterson sees PRC attracting a whole new kind of member, one that isn't interested in CAD but in what PDF can provide.  More special interest groups.  ODA doesn't have resources to program everything members are interested in, and so it supports SIGs. In these cases, a few members fund the programmers needed, but can take advantage of the ODA's infrastructure. The first two SIGs are working on compatibility with AutoCAD Architecture and AutoCAD Civil custom objects. A third SIG is developing a new project that I cannot reveal but will be announced in a year's time. Mr Peterson summarized his organization like this: "We provide a technology, not a service; we don't want to lock customers into a service; we want them to build their own technology." He likes the direction the conference is taking, and plans to expand it next year and in the years to come. www.opendesign.com   Vltava River flowing through Prague at sunset   Blogging the Teigha Here are links to the blogging I did live from the Teigha Developer Conference: Teigha Architecture, Civil, and [Shhh!] Teigha for Mobile Platforms C3D Kernel for Teigha What do ODA users want? At the ODA's annual developer meeting in Prague And here is the report from the other CAD journalist at the conference: Design technology innovation is alive and well at Open Design Alliance by Randall Newton  [Disclosure: Open Design Alliance provided me with air fare, hotel accommodation, and some meals.]   Sponsor: Kisters Learn more from viewer.kisters.de And Two More Things... JPR is holding its second-annual one-day conference on virtualization technology. No, not goggles you wear over your eyes, but working remotely using software running on a server. VIRTUALIZE 2015 takes place October 29 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport. Presenters tell their stories in how they came to use the solutions they have, what it took to get there, and what they feel about it at the end product -- and what they would have done differently. Register to attend at http://www.jonpeddie.com/events/details/jpr-virtualize-2015 and then use this code to get a 25% discount: upFront_JPRVIRT_2015 - - - NEOLANT of Moscow launches NEOSYNTEZ PLM -- a new Russian-language PLM/PDM system that manages engineering data throughout the lifecycle of infrastructure facilities. The new software uses a data-centric approach, storing all project information in a single structured vault -- information that includes any element of the facility, related designs, documents, and everything else required to operate the facility. The architecture of the PLM system means it can handle large-scale facilities of a million or more elements using standard office computers. The built-in InterBridge data converter handles most CAD/PLM systems. To learn more, you can install a demo of NEOSYNTEZ on your computer. Register for the Webinar at www.neolant.com/neosyntes/webinar. Even More News These are some of the articles that appeared on WorldCAD Access during the last couple of weesk: OrthoGraph Launches Cross-platform App  For Autodesk, AutoCAD LT shines again  Ralph Grabowski celebrates 30 years of reporting on CAD  Guided tour through ArcSite  foto of the sunday: friends  How to get a iTouch-like Android for practically free  PayPal brings back one-click payment  Carl Bass on why translation with cloudCAD isn't a problem  Guided tour through Siemens Intosite  I'm also on Twitter at @upfrontezine  throughout the day with late-breaking CAD news and wry commentary, such as.... upFront.eZine (@upFronteZine) Sep 20: "IoT, the Illusion of Trust." It's business's way of catching up with government. Thank You, Subscribers! Thank you to you subscribers who donate towards the operation of upFront.eZine.  Brian Cranston, USA Should you wish to support upFront.eZine through PayPal, then the suggested amounts are like these: $25 for individuals > paypal.me/upfrontezine/25 $125 for small companies > paypal.me/upfrontezine/125 $500 for for large companies > paypal.me/upfrontezine/500 Or you can mail a cheque (US$ or CDN$ only, please) to upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd., 34486 Donlyn Avenue, Abbotsford BC, V2S 4W7, Canada Letters to the Editor Re: mobileCAD I note with interest the scepticism expressed by several readers about the viability of mobile / cloud-based CAD, and whether there is a real market for this technology. I have to say I was also very sceptical until I tried OnShape. I think before anybody dismisses mobileCAD altogether, they really need to take a look at OnShape. True, it has a more conventional and efficient workflow on a full-sized screen with mouse and keyboard, but you really CAN edit your designs on the move, on an iPad or Android tablet. (It should also work on Windows tablets, since it can run in a browser, but the native Android and iOS apps are very well done.) The value for me is that I can take my designs anywhere, and work on them at work, home, on the bus or train, in a public library, or in the client’s office (even if I don’t have my computer with me). I’ve already modified several of my designs on the bus on my way home or on the way to a meeting.  OnShape won’t work for everybody, because it’s a SolidWorks-style MCAD system rather than being for “freeform” design. But I believe it is a viable option for many. Also, with respect to tablets with 3D cameras: The Dell Venue 7840 has the Intel RealSense 3D cameras on board. It has a native camera app which can do linear and area measurements from snapshots. It’s not exactly CAD-accurate, but the future is coming fast!      - Julian Hardy, Lead Civil / Structural Engineer         Jacobs - - -   I see a convergence in two items in your latest UpFront edition: Arctuition has developed algorithms to recognize arcs and lines + Project Tango is a prototype hardware that will recognize surroundings = real-time photogrammetry, very soon now. That is, I can see an app that lives on a Tango tablet, which is pointed at an area of a building, then a picture is snapped, then the software instantly builds a basic 3D model from the image. Pan around the space, taking a series of pics, while the tablet simultaneously does simple laser scanning to check distances, then end up with a nearly-complete 3D model in vector format. Sort of a next step in full laser scanning. Or does such an app already exist? Congratulations on your  30 years!  I think the traditional gift for a 30th wedding anniversary is Pearl, I’ll send to you the first one I find.      - Peter Lawton        USA The editor replies: I don't know if there are any apps yet that take advantage of the 3D camera, but I figure someone is bound to be working on it! Thanks for the congrats. (It's been 30 years since I began writing about CAD, specifically AutoCAD at CADalyst magazine, mid-September 1985.)   Re: 30 years Writing About CAD  Happy...... 30th!  Nice to have shared the last decade (or so) with you!      -  Royal Farros, ceo         IMSI/Design Congratulations Ralph!      -  John McEleney, ceo        OnShape Indeed, it has been an incredible journey for you and a very educative one for your readers. I like your unique, creative reporting style and it is indeed one of the best CAD journalism I have read. While many write about current stuff, you also manage to pull out trivia from the past and bring back nostalgic memories with your writing and pictures about software in the 80s and 90s.     - Rakesh Rao,        Design Sense, India Congratulations Ralph. Enjoyed all your contributions.      -  Arnold van der Weide        The Netherlands I'm sure it has been "quite the ride" and I enjoy reading everything you publish!      -  John Gear Congratulations on your anniversary, Ralph!      - Cyrena Respini-Irwin, CADalyst magazine         Longitude Media   Notable Quotable "Some lay the blame on... a leadership team that viewed success as the only option for the [Google+] social network. Failures and disappointing data were not widely discussed. The belief was that we were always just one weird feature away from the thing taking off."     - Seth Fiegerman, Mashable     http://mashable.com/2015/08/02/google-plus-history/

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