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answers:

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What is a good .Net vector graphics library that can be used for CAD like applications, and has a reasonable set of features specific for this type of applications, like computational functions (area, lengths, boolean shape operations etc).

One good solution would be to use WPF as it's vector graphics based, but it's very much UI oriented and not so much CAD functionality is present by default (like manipulating shapes, editing etc).

So I was wandering if there's good library out there for this purpose.

+3  A: 

I had it wrong the first time. it was Gtk, the Gtk library is what Gimp is based off of which is a pretty mature library. it's C# .NET wrappers are available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gtk_Sharp

stephenbayer
Gtk# and WPF are both very much UI oriented, what I really wanted was something more CAD oriented.
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ok, well.. i know it had Vector based graphics methods, i thought it would help.. :(
stephenbayer
No, you did, it's always good to know of more options :), never knew Gimp was using GTK, now maybe I'll take a look at it, could be interesting.
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+3  A: 

Don't overlook WPF - you're right that most of the hype is around GUI layout, but it does have some powerful stuff for pure graphics. In particular, check out Geometries, Transforms and Shapes.

Daniel Earwicker
I'm not overlooking WPF, it's currently my #1 option, but I'm just searching for a "better" more "specific" library, if there is one out there. Even if there is the chances are still that WPF will be used for UI.
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A: 

I can tell you what you don't want and that's the AutoCAD route. It does have inbuilt functions for areas, tangents, shape operations etc and could be useful but it is probably too complex and too expensive for that I am guessing you want to do. See my answers here and here for questions already asked about AutoCAD interfaces.

I am not aware of it but there may be something out there utilising SVG - Scalable Vector Graphics. That's an open-source standard.

If it's complex 3D stuff then maybe Blender may have something to offer you. Here are a couple of pages by the CG Society and The Dream Team with comparisons of various 3D packages.

CAD bloke
Thank you for your answer, I'm largely aware of what capabilities the major CAD applications out there have, and you were right I don't want to go the AutoCAD route, even though I have some experience working with its libraries. AutoCAD is a bit too much for my project.
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I'm looking for a generic vector library for .Net, that is well suited for small CAD like applications, but nothing fancy, just basic functionality, creating shapes and manipulating them. Anyway I haven't found it yet ...
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+3  A: 

You could possibly write a .Net wrapper to the popular Cairo library:

http://www.cairographics.org/

I suspect that could be a bit of a hassle though.

Chris KL
+2  A: 

Topology Framework .NET:

It comes from a GIS background, but provides functionality for polylines, polygons and all sorts of geometries. Also algorithms (point-in-polygon, shortest-path etc) are provided.

http://code.google.com/p/tf-net/

Bertvan
Thanks, this is exactly what I need.
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A: 

Check out this www.vdraw.com

registerhater
+1  A: 

I recommend Eyeshot from devDept, a very good component with a really easy API. Cost money, but has a very nice sales model (per developer, free distribution).

Carl Hörberg
A: 

Maybe you could use Cadability dotNet. it is commercial but has a lot of features..

HumerGu
A: 

Check this http://www.seedrawex.com/

A: 

check here:

TCAD component http://www.codeidea.com