At the recent annual conference "CAD Star 2023" in October, the developers from "Top Systems" demonstrated the version of their flagship engineering design product, T-FLEX CAD, compiled specifically for the Linux operating system. During a live demonstration, the process of opening large assembly models and key functions of navigation in the 3D window were showcased. Attendees noted the system's high performance and quality of graphics.
The version of T-FLEX CAD presented at the conference is built directly for the Linux OS and does not use any additional libraries (Wine or alternatives). It allows for basic functions: opening documents, recalculating parametric models, and visualizing drawings and 3D models. This demonstrates that the developers at "Top Systems" possess all the tools and skills needed to adapt CAD software to another target platform.
The developers are being a bit clever: since T-FLEX CAD is written in C#, the .NET platform will need to be installed. However, it is true that Wine is not required.
«Despite some technical challenges during the preparation of the Linux version of T-FLEX CAD, the developers at "Top Systems" have mastered the technology to adapt such a complex product to another target platform. The challenge of developing a full-fledged version of a CAD system for domestic operating systems is a matter of time and concentrated effort.", noted Sergei Kozlov, the development director at "Top Systems".
To implement the test version of T-FLEX CAD on Linux, the developers had to rewrite a massive amount of code to make it independent of the platform used.
Currently, T-FLEX CAD for Windows can also be used on Linux, but this requires the installation of Wine—a specialized additional software—which introduces certain complexities and limitations.
In the future, T-FLEX CAD will be implemented as a cross-platform system, allowing it to function seamlessly on both Windows and Linux without the need for any additional tools. The presented result serves as the foundation for such a software product. Its further development involves translating the T-FLEX CAD system's code for cross-platform support, including various elements of command and window user interface and application functionality.
In 2022, a cross-platform version of T-FLEX DOCs for Linux was demonstrated at the conference, which became part of the T-FLEX DOCs software product, receiving FSTEC certification. This year, significant improvements in the cross-platform T-FLEX DOCs were showcased, bringing its functionality closer to that of the main T-FLEX DOCs version for Windows, which operates on Linux using the Wine library.
The demonstration of all products was conducted on one of the Russian OS based on Linux.
T-FLEX DOCs + T-FLEX CAD is a PDM, an organizational and technical system that manages all information about the product. In this context, products can be considered various complex technical objects (ships and cars, aircraft and missiles, computer networks, etc.).
Source: linux.org.ru
