What is the difference between CADD (Computer Assisted Drafting and Design) and GIS?
The major differences between these two are function and file structure. A GIS is most often used for analysis and planning purposes. A CADD system is chiefly used for designing. A CADD drawing file contains layers, entities, properties and attributes. The database is in fact contained within the drawing file. The attributes are independent of the spatial properties. The support files do contain data, but the parent file is the drawing. A GIS is a database. The “layers” reside in the database. A map produced from GIS data is a graphic representation of elements contained in that database. Multiple users can produce maps and reports from the same relational database, but a GIS produced map cannot be “exchanged” like a drawing file. You must have access to the database to produce a map. Edits are made to the database, not the map. CADD products can perform some spatial queries, but attributes are separated from property entities. A GIS product performs spatial queries, searches, sorts an
