ODA Announces DGNdirect 2.5 Beta Release

The Open Design Alliance (ODA) announces the release of DGNdirect™ 2.5 Beta available to ODA members.

DGNdirect 2.5 Beta is a full redesign and rewrite of the previous ODA DGNdirect libraries. The new libraries utilize an interface similar to the DWGdirect™ libraries and allow a high level of compatibility between DWG and DGN applications. DGNdirect client applications will now be able to directly use existing DWGdirect capabilities, such as ACIS rendering and tessellation, PDF/SVG export, device specific rendering (GDI/OpenGL/DirectX), and other features.

ODA members are encouraged to download DGNdirect 2.5 Beta from www.opendesign.com and start using it to see the newest advancements and functionality. This version has undergone extensive internal testing, but because it is a full rewrite of existing source code, it is being released as a beta version.

When asked to comment, Neil Peterson, Chief Technical Officer of the ODA, replied, “The latest advances in the DGNdirect libraries are part of our overall plan to deliver high-performing CAD technology to our membership while improving quality and efficiency. The new DGNdirect libraries allow our DGNdirect and DWGdirect engineering teams to share functionality and reduce code duplication, maintenance, and overall project complexity. As part of this effort we have doubled the size of our DGNdirect development team and improved our DGNdirect testing infrastructure, all of which has allowed us to deliver new features faster and further enhance the performance and quality of our libraries.”

The initial DGNdirect 2.5 Beta release is for the Microsoft® Windows® operating system only—full platform support will be provided in early 2008. Existing DGNdirect client applications need to be rewritten to take advantage of the new functionality offered in DGNdirect 2.5 Beta.