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I'm planning on developing a piece of software that reads & manipulates data in a .dwg file. Instead of writing my own library that handles the 'reading' of the data file, I've decided to use either RealDWG or Teigha, however I'm struggling to understand exactly how they work.

I wish to trial the libraries before committing to paying the license. I've noticed that RealDWG is a subset of ObjectARX (more specifically ObjectDBX), of which I can obtain a trial license. So, if I download ObjetARX, can I use the ObjectDBX subset to develop my application prototype? What are the limitations (if any) of doing this?

My other option was to use Teigha, would this be slower than using RealDWG in the long run? What are the pros/cons of using either RealDWG or Teigha?

Joe Morgan
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2 Answers2

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Writing your own dwg parser is not practicable, it is a mammoth task and an encrypted format. Forget that "option".

Teigha has a trial, RealDwg does not. They both can cost similar or wildly amounts, depending on how many copies you sell of your app. There are links and more info on the Tag wiki to do your own research there.

ObjectARX requires a full version of AutoCAD to run, AutoCAD hosts the ARX / DBX add-ins. They cannot be made to run without AutoCAD. That's what RealDwg (or AutoCAD OEM) is for.

Teigha works, it runs BricsCAD and pretty-much every other CAD that isn't AutoCAD. Some clients may only want to use the "genuine" app which Autodesk will tell you is theirs. You will find that the majority of AutoCAD users have AutoCAD LT which does not support plugins of any kind. The alternatives that do support plugins are much cheaper than AutoCAD.

Your decision depends on the use-case of your software. How will your users use it? Do they use an app that can host your software as a plugin? All this and more.

AutoCAD dev is a complicated world, so is the market. Do lots of homework.

CAD bloke
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There is no more Teigha now, it is now called ODA (Open Design Alliance) drawings SDK. There are many ODA based products which can be downloaded and used as trial version. Most of these products offer API kits along with complete documentation. You can try one product here for 30 days with full API and samples to read and write DWG and DXF files.

ODA Libaries are very powerful now and support other file formats of Revit, Navisworks, PDF etc. in addition to standard DWG and DXF formats.

Murali Krishna M.
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