CATIA was started in 1977 by French aircraft manufacturer Avions Marcel Dassault Systemes. It is a 3D CAD software used in industries such as aerospace, automotive, shipbuilding, and others. CATIA allows users to view the history of how a part was constructed, modify parts by selecting them in the specification tree, and contains modules for sketching, part design, wireframe and surface design, sheet metal design, assembly, and drafting. Key capabilities include solid modeling, assembly design with constraints between parts, and generating drawings from 3D models.