DataCAD is a computer-aided design and drafting ( CADD) software for 2D and 3D architectural design and drafting, developed and sold by DATACAD LLC.

Usage

DataCAD runs exclusively on

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...

-based operating systems, and was one of the first PC-based CADD programs developed specifically for architects. DataCAD is the only CADD software ever to be endorsed by the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to s ...

(ca. 1987) for direct distribution to its members. By 1988, DataCAD was in use by more than 12,000 firms in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Currently, there are estimated to be more than 250,000 installations of DataCAD worldwide. According to ''The 1989

AIA AIA or A.I.A. or Aia may refer to: Aia * Aia, a small town in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Spain * Aia, current Kutaisi, ancient capital of Colchis * Aia, another name for Aea (Malis), an ancient town in Greece * ''Aia'', the collected ed ...

Firm Survey Report'', DataCAD is used by 10% of

member firms, second only to

AutoCAD AutoCAD is a commercial computer-aided design (CAD) and drafting software application. Developed and marketed by Autodesk, AutoCAD was first released in December 1982 as a desktop app running on microcomputers with internal graphics controllers. ...

with a 45%

market share Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those units would have a ...

. According to ''The 1997

Firm Survey Report'', DataCAD is used by 12% of

member firms, second only to

with a 61%

.Kermit Baker and Pradeep Dalal: "1997

Firm Survey Report.", page 72. The

, 1997.

History

In the Spring of 1981, a student, Eric V. Smith, began developing a program he called Apple Draw on an

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. After he graduated in 1984, Mr. Smith was hired by an architectural firm, Stuart Griffin Burgh and Associates, in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

. At this firm he began porting the Apple Draw program to the

Corvus ''Corvus'' is a widely distributed genus of medium-sized to large birds in the family Corvidae. It includes species commonly known as crows, ravens and Rook (bird), rooks. The species commonly encountered in Europe are the carrion crow, the hoo ...

Concept platform as DataCAD. In 1984, only one license of DataCAD was sold before it was ported to the

IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team ...

platform. DataCAD was developed exclusively for the

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

until May 1998. The DataCAD Boston Users' Group (DBUG) was formed in December 1987 by two architects, the late Evan Shu,

FAIA Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) is a postnominal title or membership, designating an individual who has been named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Fellowship is bestowed by the institute on AIA-member ...

(1953 - 2020) and Rick Gleason,

. In November 2020, DBUG reached a 33-year milestone and stands as one of the longest, continuously-running, CAD software users' groups in the United States. DBUG is a permanent committee of the Boston Society of Architects. In June 1989, Cadkey, Inc. (the original developer of

CADKEY CADKEY is a 2D/3D mechanical CAD (computer aided design or computer aided drafting) software application released for various DOS, Solaris, and Microsoft Windows operating systems. Originally released for DOS in 1984, CADKEY was among the first CA ...

), purchased the rights to DataCAD from Microtecture Inc. In September 1992, Dr. Malcolm Davies was elected President/CEO of Cadkey, Inc. Dr. Davies joined Cadkey from

Autodesk Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that makes software products and services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries. Autodesk is headquartered ...

where from 1988 to 1992 he was V.P. Marketing and Sales. In November 1993, the price of DataCAD was drastically reduced from $2,995 to $150 coincident with a major shift from dealer-based sales to direct mail-based sales. In October 1994, the first

online forum An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...

(also known as The DBUG Forum) dedicated to DataCAD users was established by the late Evan Shu,

(1953 - 2020). The DBUG Forum is a listserv supported by subscribers worldwide. A searchable archive of more than 70,000 messages is available (see External Links). On October 2, 1996, a newly formed company, DATACAD LLC, co-founded by Mark F. Madura, the late David A. Giesselman (1957 - 2020), and H. William Mirbach, purchased the rights to DataCAD from Micro Control Systems, Inc. (formerly Cadkey, Inc.). In February 1998, DATACAD, along with 14 other companies, joined the newly formed, OpenDWG Alliance (now

Open Design Alliance Open Design Alliance is a nonprofit organization creating software development kits (SDKs) for engineering applications. ODA offers interoperability tools for CAD, BIM, and Mechanical industries including .dwg, .dxf, .dgn, Autodesk Revit, Autodes ...

) as a founding member. The alliance is dedicated to the promotion of Autodesk's DWG drawing file format as an open industry standard for the exchange of CADD drawings. A lower-cost version, DataCAD LT (pronounced "el-tee"), was first introduced in 2001. On October 2, 2020, Mark F. Madura reached a 24-year milestone as President and CEO of DATACAD LLC. On April 2, 2019, Principal DataCAD Author, the late David A. Giesselman (1957 - 2020), Senior V.P. and C.T.O. of DATACAD LLC reached a 35-year milestone as a DataCAD software engineer.

Version history

*DataCAD 22 - September 2020 *DataCAD 21 - February 2019 *DataCAD 20 - January 2018 *DataCAD 19 - October 2016 *DataCAD 18 - October 2015 *DataCAD 17 - October 2014 *DataCAD 16 - October 2013 *DataCAD 15 - October 2012 *DataCAD 14 - September 2011 *DataCAD 13 - June 2010 *DataCAD 12 - June 2007 *DataCAD 11 - November 2003 *DataCAD 10 - October 2001 *DataCAD 9 - August 2000 *DataCAD 8.5 - July 1999 *DataCAD 8 - May 1998 (First Windows version) *DataCAD 7.5 - August 1997 *DataCAD 7 - November 1995 *DataCAD 6 - November 1994 *DataCAD 5 - October 1993 *DataCAD 4 - August 1990 *DataCAD 3.6 - May 1988 *DataCAD 3 - October 1986 *DataCAD 2.5 - October 1985 *DataCAD 2 - June 1985 *DataCAD 1.2 - April 1985 (First IBM PC version) *Archon - 1982 - 1985 (Unreleased, runs on Corvus Constellation)

External links

DATACAD's Official DataCAD Web SiteDataCAD Message BoardDataCAD Time MachineDataCAD Developer NetworkDBUG Forum ArchivesOpen Design Alliance Official Web Site

Notes

Computer-aided design software Computer-aided design software for Windows

Usage

History

Version history

See also

External links

Notes