AutoCAD

AutoCAD is a Computer Assisted Design (CAD) software package for 2D and 3D design and drafting, developed and sold by Autodesk. It currently runs only on Microsoft operating systems. Versions for Unix and Macintosh were released, but these met with limited market acceptance and were later dropped.

Initially for mechanical engineers, it has been extended and is very widely used by architects and other design professionals. Its file formats (DWG and its ASCII equivalent, AutoCADDXF) have become the default standard for CAD packages.

Version 1 was released in December 1982. The current version is AutoCAD 2002, which was released in June 2001. A lower-cost version, AutoCAD LT (pronounced ell tee, not lite), was introduced in 1993. Compared with its more expensive sibling, LT lacks the AutoLISP programming language and other programming interfaces, some 3D capability, and a few other features.

External links:

20 years of AutoCAD: Shaan Hurley's AutoCAD History

Early development of AutoCAD: John Walker's Site (John Walker is a co-founder of Autodesk).