AutoCAD in the cloud

Autodesk has recently unveiled a new product for the cloud, AutoCAD WS, a free-of-charge online DWG viewer and editor that is Web-based and powered by Adobe Flash, it also allows the editing of Apple iOS devices

A very promising web application that can fill a gap in (very) light editing and online viewing of AutoCAD DWG files through the cloud.

Geomtry Kernels in AEC/BIM field

A geometry kernel is the core of any modeling software, it is simply the part of the program that understands geometry and the relationships of the various entities the program allows you to draw (let it be a 2D line, rectangle, polygon, or a 3D cube, 3D polygon, face, mesh or that cool NURBS object you had been creating for 3 days).

The geometry kernel is an indicator of the robustness of the modeling software.

Some of the kernels used by key players in the CAD/AEC/BIM and MCAD field:

• Autodesk AutoCAD: Autodesk Shape Manager (ACIS based)
• Autodesk Revit: Proprietary kernel from earlier versions of Revit
• NNA Vectorworks 2009: Siemen’s Parasolid
• NNA VectorWorks 2008 (and earlier): IntegrityWare Solids++
• Graphisoft ArchiCAD: Spatial’s ACIS
• Bentley Microstation: Siemen’s Parasolid
• PTC Pro/ENGINEER: Proprietary kernel (with Parasolid for compatability)
• CATIA: Proprietary kernel (with Parasolid for compatability)
• Dassault SolidWorks: Siemen’s Parasolid (despite owning the ACIS maker)
  

Articles About the usage of geometry kernels:

http://architosh.com/2008/09/architosh-talks-to-dr-biplap-sarkar-about-parasolid/

http://www10.aeccafe.com/nbc/articles/view_weekly.php?articleid=594268

http://aec.cadalyst.com/aec/Review%2C+AEC+Software/ArchiCAD-12-Cadalyst-Labs-Review/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/556437?contextCategoryId=6574

http://discussion.autodesk.com/forums/message.jspa?messageID=5236836

http://www.dezignstuff.com/blog/?p=2281

Holes in ArcGIS Polygons from AutoCAD

It remained a mystery to me how Polygons can be exported from CAD to ArcGIS with holes (or donuts, if you prefer to call it so) until recently.

I read in the GIS CAD Interoperability blog that when ArcGIS encouters a block, it considers all the objects inside it to create a multipart object (that is multipart polygon, multipart polyline or multipoint) which is exactly how ArcGIS stores its polygons with holes. 

That means that to create a polygon with hole in AutoCAD you only need to select the polygons creating the polygon and its holes and make a block, this will tell the ArcGIS when importing CAD data that it is a single object with multipart geometry.

Some old Findings

I always find some things that may seem silly to people, yet very useful to other people, I'll keep posting about such things until I find that really interesting thing that no-one can find silly, and keep it to myself.
Some of these silly things:

• If anybody tries to convince you that the GIS is another platform you can learn and lightly use it then later forget about it, be warned, it is a really dangerous plot to turn normal people into geography-loving map-making freaks that speak all of the time about the lack and inaccuracy of the publicly available geo-data and about how accurate the data you personally collect and process compared to your government's data.
• I'm a big loser to stay in the Microsoft developers camp for so long (VB 2/3/4/5/6, VB.NET, then C#), I've heard about Java in as early as 96/97, but never tried it before 2 months ago, and it is a great language to learn and a great community to join
• Apple got some of the greatest designers in the tech industry, I just wish I have enough money to be a full-time mac user (or that they become more affordable in foreign countries).
• Adobe is the graphics designer best friend, Thank God Microsoft is failing in its pathetic attempts to take over the graphics market.
• People using AutoCAD should be using AutoCAD 'til the end of their lives, its the best punishment for learning such a bad program from the beginning, it is one of the worst large applications ever (every industry has better solutions for its users, especially in the Architecture, Landscape and GIS industries), I have to switch over to anything else.