I have no opinion in the SVG - DWF discussion, but I can tell you that your
message of Aug 18th and Scott Sheppard's reaction are still on line. Just
reset your newsreader (in Outlook Express: file - properties - local file).
Govert
"Eduard Lukschandl" schreef in bericht
news:A99C44DB12C0F1D96AF566DE09C2B8B5@in.WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
> The last time I asked about a comparison SVG - DWF hoping for a similar
> analysis as Brian Mathews did for PDF - DWF in the thread "dwf &
Print/Copy
> Shops".
> Alas the answer consisted of a few sentences only boiling down to that a
> file-size comparison made Autodesk abandon its SVG plans in favor for DWF.
>
> Furthermore, it seems that my postings - and answers - have been taken
away
> from this list.
> I can read 126 postings; the first one is the welcome greeting from Mark
> Fritts.
> I am curious to know what will happen to this one.
>
> As I wrote the last time, I put a lot of work into trying to get any info
> about the DWF format back in 2001, and it was really not easy. When I
> learned about the evolving XML based SVG format defined by the
> www-consortium, I started experimenting and participating in the
> mailing-list svg-developers@yahoogroups.com. in order to make a decision
> about which way to go. On my question I got some answers, the most
> interesting one I attach below.
>
> Please respond professionally, Autodesk. While it is obvious that the
> benefits of the 2 formats overlap broadly, there might exist features in
one
> of them that makes all the difference for a certain purpose or
application.
> As we address customers of a great variety, we have to make a decision
based
> on your answer.
>
> Thanks
> - Eduard Lukschandl
> CTO AviPlan AB
>
> > Hi,
> >
> > I don't really know where AutoDesk is going with SVG but perhaps some
> > speculation (perhaps too much) is in order.
> >
> > At one time AutoDesk had announced an SVG plotter output driver. One of
> > their people published a whitepaper on SVG. There was also a hint of SVG
> in
> > LandDesk. We even provided a few phone demos showing some primitive SVG
> > capabilities to a group of product managers. However, the next release
> > pulled out the SVG plotting and they seemed to downplay SVG altogether.
I
> > met the whitepaper author at an Autodesk developer's meeting last year.
He
> > seemed to indicate that AutoDesk didn't have room for an SVG plot
> capability
> > in the current release, something about software bloat etc. This sounded
> > like a familiar spin or newspeak for we dropped it and don't want to
talk
> > about it.
> > There was also some momentum toward a design XML which I have not
followed
> > very closely. This was basically an XML grammar for transport of the
core
> > data structure of a DWG design file specifically suitable for AutoCAD
> > developers but not meant to be a general graphic grammar.
> >
> > Now there seems to be an ad campaign directed against Adobe (
> > http://usa.autodesk.com ) which is curious since Adobe doesn't even have
a
> > directly competitive product in the CAD sense, only in the Internet
> > publishing sense. Certainly conceptually the "document" should
eventually
> > absorb the "Engineering drawing" and "Document" is a very strong core in
> the
> > Adobe product line. But the future is still up for grabs in the XML
> document
> > arena and AutoDesk has a great deal of strength even if they have lacked
> > innovation since the loss of their original development/management team.
> > (Carol Bartz successfully transformed AutoDesk from a cool technology
firm
> > to a lucrative but ho-hum software marketing firm)
> >
> > Some pure speculation:
> > Does AutoDesk sense the possibility that the technology is moving in a
web
> > application direction? This of course would pose a future threat to core
> > workstation products. Their answer is DWF<->VoloView which is unheard of
> > outside the AutoCAD community. Their original grasp of SVG was a nice
> little
> > public graphic for exporting static DWG files in an innocuous sense.
> > However, on closer examination SVG is not so innocuous in fact it is
> > extremely dangerous to a business based on decades old technology! Then,
> the
> > apparent leader in SVG viewers is currently Adobe and consequently SVG
has
> > been associated with Adobe branding, perhaps unfortunately for SVG. (I
> think
> > Corel is doing a great service for w3c SVG by creating a brand
alternative
> > and moving SVG away from a single brand association)
> >
> > It's worth reviewing what SVG provides that isn't available in
alternative
> > offerings:
> > 1. Open - not proprietary
> > 2. XML - readable and useable
> > 3. event listeners
> > 4. Internet
> > 5. Internet
> > 6. Internet
> > .
> > .
> >
> > DWF is binary - proprietary - requires VoloView tm of Autodesk - works
> only
> > on the Windows OS - is difficult to customize, even when buying fully
into
> > AutoDesk/Microsoft products.
> >
> > The big deal with SVG for those of us from other graphic format
> backgrounds
> > isn't the viewing at all, but the connections, the links, it makes
> possible.
> > Event listeners make the difference! Conceivably SVG compels us to think
> > about webs of drawings not just static drawings, not even dynamic but
> > disconnected drawings, but object level linking across the Internet
cloud.
> > Events on clients allow us to make editors and nifty client affects, etc
> > the kind of stuff Flash popularized, but even more than this events
> connect
> > to the big world out there. SVG is the first graphics language for the
> > Internet and design files can now connect across the world. Once a full
> set
> > of mutation events are implemented can you imagine the type of
parametric
> > webs that can be created? SVG mutation events with XLink Xpointer move
> > slowly but inexorably into a fully parameterized design environment.
> > Note: parametric drawing refers to the linkage between a paramater and a
> > graphic object, changes to one implicitly change the other and changes
> > others ... which is a big deal in manufacturing drawings where revisions
> > need to cascade through a chain of documents and vendors.
> >
> > Of course the vendors like AutoDesk/Microsoft would be able to do this
> > technically as well but I don't think they quite grasp the enormity of
the
> > situation, or when they do catch glimpses, it scares them into circling
> the
> > wagons around the money making products. At least Microsoft still has
> their
> > first generation leadership and recognizes the power of technical
> > innovation, but AutoDesk doesn't have that kind of leadership.
> >
> > Perhaps AutoDesk fears the world that SVG opens and especially Adobe
since
> > they are apparently back on track to exploit SVG's capabilities. At this
> > rate the "internet document" future is not going to go to AutoDesk and
> even
> > Adobe seems a bit nervous about the Tiger they have by the tail.
> >
> > Remember this is purely bloggish speculation from an entirely outside
> > observer but fun to think about.
> >
> > randy
> >
>
>
