The recent introduction of DoubleCAD XT heralds a completely new era in architectural computing in Africa. Released by IMSI/Design, the Turbo CAD people, this free version of an "AutoCAD work-alike" is somewhat different from its predecessors and current competitors: it has no license restrictions confining it to "personal use" nor does it have any obvious restrictions, such as file size, disabled functions, snag lines or expiration date.

It is truly the first time in the history of commercial architectural computing that you can download a completely free and legal copy of commercial grade CAD software and introduce it into the practice without fears of piracy, disruption or poor performance.

Since its introduction just under a year ago, DoubleCAD XT has become the free CAD of choice in many practices in Africa. Many suspect that IMSI/Design has become the leading supplier of legal CAD software for Africa.

TurboCAD was originally developed in South Africa by Hendrik Vermooten and Hein Oosthuizen. This first version of TurboCAD fitted on a single 360k floppy so that it could run on the original IBM PC. The source code could also fit on a single floppy disk along with the 30k required by the "development environment": Turbo Pascal 2.0. We like to think that it is thanks to the founding efforts of Hendrik and Hein that DoubleCAD XT exists today, but maybe that is stretching it a bit…

Twenty five years later, TurboCAD is now a fierce CAD/3D package that competes head-on with AutoDesk's products. Think of DoubleCAD XT as TurboCAD's younger brother; not as clever but much more athletic, better looking and full of yet to be realised potential.

The CAD paradigm has shifted - and the shift finally favours the architect.

So what's the catch?

There is no catch. Just clever marketing and a realistic awareness of the CAD market. By giving you these fine instruments the makers hope that you will support the concept of voluntary upgrades; if you feel you need more power in the future you can acquire it for a very reasonable cost. This is a "win win" strategy that is finding strong support amongst architects in Africa and heralds the return of the cost effective private practice.

It is not all plain sailing though; there are still a few quirks to sort out relating to the AutoCAD "work-alikeness", but remember this is not a clone, it is a TurboCAD engine with a new UI: it simply offers the ability to configure the interface in a familiar AutoCAD manner.