The hypertext version of IGES 5.x will provide a resource that links the changes between versions of the standard and their original authors. In the Members of the IPO section, the names of authors of RFCs (Requests For Change) and ECOs (Edit Change Orders) will be linked to pages that contain a list of their contributions.
The Initial Graphics Exchange Specification Version 5.0 (IGES 5.0) was published in September, 1990, by the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) on behalf of the IPO. This was the first version of IGES to be published electronically without the need to paste the illustrations on the pages before sending the Master Copy to the printer. All of the technical illustrations were created as IGES files, and software was donated to the IPO for translating IGES files into raster images so that the text and figures can be printed on the same sheet of paper.
In November, 1990, NIST released a CD-ROM with the LaTeX files used to create IGES 5.0, along with various PDES/STEP documents, making it the first product data exchange standard developed by the IPO to be distributed in digital format. Shortly thereafter, USPRO was formed as a not-for-profit corporation to manage the IPO, obtain ANSI approval, and publish IGES.
IGES 5.1 (1991) was the first version copyrighted by the IPO and published by USPRO. IGES 5.1 was released both as a set of change pages for updating IGES 5.0, and as a fully integrated paper document. None of the IGES 5.0 pages were re-numbered, but the IGES 5.1 pages had "point" numbers for insertion, and all replacement pages had the text "v5.1-1991" printed at the bottom.
IGES 5.2 (1993) required a complete reformatting of the document. New LaTeX style files and macros were created, and some of the technical illustrations were upgraded from simple Etch-A-Sketch® renderings to files which actually used the entities being illustrated, such as dimensions, arrowhead styles, and spline curves.
When USPRO obtained ANSI approval for IGES 5.2 as an American National Standard, it became the world's first national standard for digital communication of graphic images that was used to document itself! (Later, a version of the SGML standard was published using SGML. :-)
IGES 5.0 was the last non-copyrighted version of the standard. Most people accept that The Next Version of IGES will be the last, and that it will be called IGES 6.0.
USPRO no longer has resources to submit a version of IGES for ANSI approval, and will soon discontinue sales of IGES 5.3, so this site has posted the last available draft (1999-01-12) as a hyperlinked PDF file, complete with the figures. The LaTeX and IGES files used to create it with PdfLaTeX (included with MiKTeK) are also available on this site.
Last update: 2006-06-28 by WebMaster@IGES5x.org