What is the difference between an integer based and a floating point based CAD package?
Integers are whole numbers; i.e., 5, 99, -66. Floating-point, or real, numbers include fractional parts; i.e., 3678.99, and 0.003. Integer based packages are very fast due to exclusively using integer arithmetic which is much faster than floating point arithmetic. Unfortunately this results in limited capability such as limited discrete zoom ratios which is not satisfactory for Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, or Architectural work. As the drawing gets larger and larger, the allowed resolution gets smaller and smaller. For example if you are designing a 1000 long bridge and now want to detail a 1″ rivet hole your allowable resolution may be a minimum of several inches or feet which is useless. Integer based packages are really intended for Electrical Engineering (EE) applications where they work very well. All parts for schematic capture fall on a grid. Not only are parts standardized but they are only shown in schematic form; i.e., a functional electronic circuit symbol and
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