[PyKDE] [ANNOUNCE] Third release of PythonCAD now available

[Art Haas]

I'd like to announce the third release of PythonCAD, a CAD package
for open-source software users. As the name implies, PythonCAD is
written entirely in Python. The goal of this project is to create
a fully scriptable drafting program that will match and eventually
exceed features found in commercial CAD software. PythonCAD is released
under the GNU Public License (GPL).

PythonCAD requires Python 2.2. The interface is GTK 2.0 based,
and uses the PyGTK module for interfacing to GTK. The design of
PythonCAD is built around the idea of separating the interface
from the back end as much as possible. By doing this, it is hoped
that both GNOME and KDE interfaces can be added to PythonCAD through
usage of the appropriate Python module. Addition of other interfaces
will depend on the availability of a Python module for that particular
interface and developer interest and action.

The third release adds some new functionality to the program. Construction
lines can be easily drawn tangent to circles and arcs, as well as
drawn perpendicular to the various entities in a drawing. The thickness
of drawing entities like line segments and circles is now drawn on
the screen, too. Splitting the entities in the drawing can now be
done by clicking on them at the point where they are to be split, or
entities can be split at points where they intersect one another. This
splitting functionality works only for "real" entities in a drawing
like segments and circles; there is no splitting of the construction
objects.

This release also includes many internal improvements in the code. Many
routines were revised to conform to current code standards, numerous
routines were simplified, and some routines were completely re-written.
These cleanups fixed various bugs, as well as making the code easier
to understand in places.

Visit the PythonCAD web site for more information about what PythonCAD
does and aims to be.

http://www.pythoncad.org

Come and join me in developing PythonCAD into a world class drafting
program!

For PyKDE/PyQT Developers:

I've installed qt-3.1.1, sip-3.5, PyQT-3.5, and KDE-3.1 on my machine,
so I can now start working on a PyQT based front end to PythonCAD, as
well as locally test any patches/code that someone sends. When the
PyKDE release for KDE-3.1 arrives I will install that as well. I've
tried running a few of the examples in the PyQT package, and they
run well enough for me to see that a PyQT based front end can be
used satisfactorially on an old machine like mine, and should run
without problems on newer hardware.

The KDE developers have done a wonderful job with this latest release.

Art Haas
-- 
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety.
 -- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759