CATIA version to buy

[aeroiverson]

hi, i'm a student starting to learn CATIA. i have an option of buying V5R20 or V5R21 or V5R2012. I have no clue which one to get and all are same price at my university store. any advise please?

Also any good books or any website to learn CATIA for someone that's new to CATIA please?

 

[DaSalo]

You will notice very little difference between these versions. The major factor is compatibility. Buy the version required by your classes. If not taking formal classes, and your hardware supports it, buy the latest version R2012. Most major companies stay a version or two behind the latest release to allow time for bugs to be solved, testing and verfication to be conducted, etc. As a student there is no compelling reason in my mind that you should need to work from an older version unless your classes require it.

CATIA V5 R20
PC-DMIS 2011 MR1