"Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computer technology for the design of objects, real or virtual. It often refers to the drafting (technical drawing and engineering drawing) of a part or product, including entire buildings. However, CAD software is used in a wide variety of other fields such as electronics and woven fabrics.
"The Windows CAD world has long been dominated by the extremely powerful AutoCAD software. Unfortunately, Unix support was dropped way back in 1994, and its authors, Autodesk, have no current plans to bring it to Linux.
"Whilst it is possible to run AutoCAD in Linux using Wine, the fact remains that it is expensive software, with no source code available. This article instead focuses on CAD software released under a freely distributable license, yet which retains a lot of the functionality offered by AutoCAD."
