Author Topic: New ObjectDCL alternative for 2007 w/ palettes...  (Read 27088 times)

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BazzaCAD

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New ObjectDCL alternative for 2007 w/ palettes...
« on: July 13, 2006, 01:51:43 PM »
A French company called Progiscad is developing an alternative to ObjectDCL that works in 2007 & has palettes.
Here is a screen shot and a description of feathers from the developer (native language French).

This program is some better than ObjecDCL because it can drive also palettes, and expandable frames, right click menu in treenodes, comboboxes and listboxes and a new spin-editbox ; in the editor we can duplicate (cloner in french) a form and keep all the events
but at this time the program has not all the controls there was in ObjecDcl and foreach control, only the most popular properties and the most popular events.
this day, we can use in modalform, modless form, palettes
- label
- buttons (text and graphic)
- editboxes
- spin-editboxes
- checkboxes
- pictures (allows drawing at runtime)
- comboboxes (with pictures or not)
- listboxes
- treenodes
- multipage
- radio_buttons
- radio_buttonlist
- blockview (flat or with orbit3d)
- frames
- expandable frames
- colorcombobox
- multigrigrids (with editbox,spin_editbox, checkbox, combobox, colorcombobox and a magic function to drive the all with only one list)
-


Of cause this is just anther band-aid. I.E. what whats happens when Acad2010 comes out & Progiscad is no longer in business.
I'll post the install in the next post. I don't have any info. on price or release date.

jbuzbee

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Re: New ObjectDCL alternative for 2007 w/ palettes...
« Reply #1 on: July 13, 2006, 01:59:13 PM »
Nope, sorry, not going to fall for that again.  I'm up and running in VBA just fine.  I can actually closely mimc palettes enough in VBA for my use thanks.

jb
James Buzbee
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Re: New ObjectDCL alternative for 2007 w/ palettes...
« Reply #2 on: July 13, 2006, 02:02:30 PM »
Why is there a swamp Logo in the lower left there?

BazzaCAD

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Re: New ObjectDCL alternative for 2007 w/ palettes...
« Reply #3 on: July 13, 2006, 02:03:12 PM »
Here's the install if you want to give it a try. The editor is a little weird and different then ObjectDCL, but you can get used to it.
If you want to e-mail the developer his name is Didier & ad-devpt@ad-developpements.fr


here is an evaluation version of our project.
there are
CPAL.ARX : like objectdcl.arx (it's the reader so it is not protected)
EDITBCP.EXE : like objectdcl.exe (it's the writer so it is protected)
there is a CPAL.DOC (in French) who explain the CPAL_*** functions
There is no documentation for EDITBCP.EXE but I also attach to this mail a file named ENGLISH.TXT ; put it near the file FRENCH.TXT so you wil be abble to chose your language. (menu edit -->configuration --> Langue --> Anglais)

I suggest you  to load a BCP file in sample directory and you click on the third and the fourth icon to get the project window and the property window.

Also in EDITBCP you can use F11 key for setting TABS, RADIOBUTTONLIST, IMAGES...

A good idea is to see the sample folder....

This is an evaluation version so, every time you show a form or a palette, you will see a message....

in full release you dont' see anymore this message and the copyright at the top right of every forms will be your's

BazzaCAD

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Re: New ObjectDCL alternative for 2007 w/ palettes...
« Reply #4 on: July 13, 2006, 02:04:29 PM »
Why is there a swamp Logo in the lower left there?

I was just playing around in the editor. Sorry no it's in no way assocated with The Swamp.

BazzaCAD

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Re: New ObjectDCL alternative for 2007 w/ palettes...
« Reply #5 on: July 13, 2006, 02:09:47 PM »
Nope, sorry, not going to fall for that again.  I'm up and running in VBA just fine.  I can actually closely mimc palettes enough in VBA for my use thanks.

jb

I somewhat agree with you. The thing is I've written a huge amount of code in Lisp & ODCL and don't want to port them over to VBA. So this sounds like a possible alternative.
How do you mimc palettes in VBA?

Bobby C. Jones

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Re: New ObjectDCL alternative for 2007 w/ palettes...
« Reply #6 on: July 13, 2006, 04:50:40 PM »
Nope, sorry, not going to fall for that again.  I'm up and running in VBA just fine.  I can actually closely mimc palettes enough in VBA for my use thanks.

jb

I somewhat agree with you. The thing is I've written a huge amount of code in Lisp & ODCL and don't want to port them over to VBA. So this sounds like a possible alternative.
How do you mimc palettes in VBA?
If you're interested in full featured GUI's, and acad palettes in particular, *and* longevity, then you need to seriously look at .NET...
Bobby C. Jones

Bobby C. Jones

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Re: New ObjectDCL alternative for 2007 w/ palettes...
« Reply #7 on: July 13, 2006, 05:10:08 PM »
If you're interested in full featured GUI's, and acad palettes in particular, *and* longevity, then you need to seriously look at .NET...
Ok, I can see that I'm late to the party and this GUI discussion is old and over :-)

However, before I go I wouldn't feel right without at least mentioning that .NET will not only allow you to create dialogs & palettes, but also allows you to add your own custom tabs to the Options dialog, the drafting settings dialog, and the customization dialog.  Not to mention that you can add buttons and other do-dads to the document and application panes.  I won't mention context menus because then I'd just be getting long winded :-)
Bobby C. Jones

jbuzbee

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Re: New ObjectDCL alternative for 2007 w/ palettes...
« Reply #8 on: July 13, 2006, 08:58:18 PM »
Alright Bobby, I'll throw done!  Lets see some of this great stuff yo be dissen us wit!   :pissed:

Seriously - If I had the time to learn another language it'd be C++.  I have a large amount of Lisp that works just fine - I just needed something other than plain ole DCL.  Would I love to learn a net language - sure.  Here's a thought: why don't you do a Project DOT NET palette, like the VBA project I did and show us the basics - nothing fancy - just how to get started . . ?  I know I'd appreciate it!

Good to hear from you,

jb
James Buzbee
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MickD

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Re: New ObjectDCL alternative for 2007 w/ palettes...
« Reply #9 on: July 13, 2006, 11:02:52 PM »
here's a start -> http://www.theswamp.org/index.php?topic=10634.0

if vb is your poison it wouldn't be hard to change.
"Short cuts make long delays,' argued Pippin.”
J.R.R. Tolkien

Bobby C. Jones

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Re: New ObjectDCL alternative for 2007 w/ palettes...
« Reply #10 on: July 14, 2006, 02:04:47 PM »
Alright Bobby, I'll throw done!  Lets see some of this great stuff yo be dissen us wit!   :pissed:

Seriously - If I had the time to learn another language it'd be C++.  I have a large amount of Lisp that works just fine - I just needed something other than plain ole DCL.  Would I love to learn a net language - sure.  Here's a thought: why don't you do a Project DOT NET palette, like the VBA project I did and show us the basics - nothing fancy - just how to get started . . ?  I know I'd appreciate it!

Good to hear from you,

jb
Hey JB,
It's good to "see" you again too :-)

It would be difficult to create a form with all of the controls available to .NET, even just the OOTB controls.  Could I just show you what's available?  And let me state up front that I am no expert on WinForms, in fact I would rate myself as a GUI novice.  I have an O'Reilly "In A Nutshell" book on them...and that's about it :-)

The first attached image is the Winforms Toolbox in the current project that I'm working on.  The top portion, LevelManager Components, are little reusable pieces that I've created to place on my form.  They can have their own methods, properties, and events.  Once created these can be dragged onto any other form or control in the project. 

The second attached image is a ToolSection component that I created.  I can drag this onto another component and pass it a string for the label (it's a property that I created).  The third image is my palette with a number of these tool sections, each containing other custom controls that I created.  Please ignore the extreme ugliness of the palette.  It's early in the design phase and most of the text will be replaced with images and other niceties later :-)

Now if I make a change to the base ToolSection component, all three of the instances on the palette will show the update.  My entire form is built this way, even down to the buttons.  Later, after the overall layout is finished I can update my custom button class, to show images instead of text or something, and all instances of it will change.  From ugly to cool in seconds :-)  VB6 will allow you to build controls like this, but it's a no can do in VBA.

Looking over the list of OOTB controls, we've got all of the standard buttons, list boxes, combo boxes, treeviews, labels, and such.  There are also controls for most of the common dialogs like OpenFileDialog and FolderBrowserDialog.  There are other cool ones like MenuStrip and ToolStrip.  Some are there just for support, like the ToolStripContainer which places containers to dock menu's and toolbars to the top, bottom, and sides of your window.

And that's just the tip of the iceburg.  You have so much control over the layout of your forms and how nested controls react to their parents stretching and such.  But like I said, I'm no expert and I doubt that I'm doing WinForms justice.

Mick's link is a good simple palette project.  Below are some links to some other simple code that I posted a while back.

Adding tabs to the Options Dialog
http://www.theswamp.org/index.php?topic=8190.0

Application and document pane buttons
http://www.theswamp.org/index.php?topic=8191.0

Custom Palettes
http://www.theswamp.org/index.php?topic=8192.0


Aside from the wonders of WinForms and the areas of the AutoCAD Editor opened up by the .NET API, in 2007 you can now create procedures in .NET that can be run from lisp.  You can pass parameters into the procedures and have them return values.  This feature allows you to fire up a WinForm, collect data from the user, and return that data for processing in your lisp code.  You're not going to run lisp code as event callbacks with this feature, but it does provide a nice bridge to share data between your lisp and .net apps.

Anyway, I hope that gives you a little flavor of what can be done.  When R12 came out I went nuts with DCL.  I loved it.  The day that I opened up MS Access for the first time and designed a form I never ever wanted to touch DCL again.  I feel the same way with VB6 and VBA forms now.  They just don't compare, at all.

As for language, I have no doubt that you'll pick up VB.NET, or C#, without a lot of trouble.  I did and I'll be the first to admit that you're a more intelligent man than I am. (for those of you that don't know James, I'm not kidding, this guy is sharp!)
Bobby C. Jones

BazzaCAD

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Re: New ObjectDCL alternative for 2007 w/ palettes...
« Reply #11 on: July 14, 2006, 04:07:50 PM »
I agree .NET is the way to go, I've just never had the time or skills to learn it, but maybe now is the time.
The point of my post was wit this new app. it would be easy for you to keep your existing LSP that calls ODCL & just change some of the function calls to the new app. and your pretty much done.
It's much easier to port from LSP to LSP.

Now I just notice you've added some great .NET tutorials & I'll definitely find the time to run through them.
Can I use VS2002.net to compile for Acad2006, or do I have to upgrade to VS2005.net?
Where else can I find more Acad .net tutorials?

thx

Bobby C. Jones

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Re: New ObjectDCL alternative for 2007 w/ palettes...
« Reply #12 on: July 14, 2006, 04:45:51 PM »
I agree .NET is the way to go, I've just never had the time or skills to learn it, but maybe now is the time.
The point of my post was wit this new app. it would be easy for you to keep your existing LSP that calls ODCL & just change some of the function calls to the new app. and your pretty much done.
It's much easier to port from LSP to LSP.

Now I just notice you've added some great .NET tutorials & I'll definitely find the time to run through them.
Can I use VS2002.net to compile for Acad2006, or do I have to upgrade to VS2005.net?
Where else can I find more Acad .net tutorials?

thx
Sorry Barry, I didn't intend to hijack your post.  It does appear to be an alternative to ODCL and I'm glad that you brought it to the attention of the group.  Thank you!

As for .NET, I do hope that you get a chance to look at it soon.  You don't need VS2005 until you start developing for AutoCAD 2007.

You can find a lot of good acad .net help in this forum and the adesk forum.  There are samples that ship with the SDK and some labs that can be downloaded from the adesk web site.  Sorry, I don't have any links handy :-(
Bobby C. Jones

jbuzbee

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Re: New ObjectDCL alternative for 2007 w/ palettes...
« Reply #13 on: July 14, 2006, 05:19:09 PM »
Ok Ok you've convinced me. However in a cruel twist of fate I can't get the Windows Installer to work on my machine!  I downloaded C# Express (to learn on) but couldn't get it loaded! :realmad:

The strange thing is I got it loaded on a co-workers machine - almost identical setup: WinXP Pro SP 2 all updates blah blah blah.  Oh the cruelity of it all!

I'll have to talk to IT on Monday . . ..

Thanks for posting Bobby!  Everyone Have a good weekend!!!

jb
James Buzbee
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BazzaCAD

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Re: New ObjectDCL alternative for 2007 w/ palettes...
« Reply #14 on: July 14, 2006, 06:00:10 PM »
Sorry Barry, I didn't intend to hijack your post.  It does appear to be an alternative to ODCL and I'm glad that you brought it to the attention of the group.  Thank you!

No prob. at all.
And what about going the other way. Can VS2005 compile for Acad2006?
Also, can I get VS2005 Express working?
This makes me think so: http://through-the-interface.typepad.com/through_the_interface/2006/07/getting_the_obj.html