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| Comparison points | DWG | DXF | IGES | IFC |
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| Stands for | DraWinG | Drawing eXchange Format | Initial Graphics Exchange Specification | Industry Foundation Classes |
| Expressivity | 3D geometries, colours, text, & layers | 2D geometries, colours, text, & layers | 3D geometries, colours, text, layers, and mechanical & FEA data | 3D geometries & alphanumeric semantic information about building components |
| Interoperability | Proprietary to AutoCAD® & some similar software holding Autodesk's license | Neutral (open source to most of CAD, CAE, & CAM software) | Neutral (open source to most of CAD, CAE, & CAM software) | Neutral (open source to most of CAD, CAE, & CAM software) |
| Encoding | Binary | ASCII | ASCII | Data definition language: EXPRESS |
| Complexity | Handles 2D & 3D (solid) objects | Handles 2D vectors only (does not handle solid/surface elements) | Handles 2D & 3D (solid) objects | Handles 2D & 3D (solid) objects |
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