Author Topic: In for a tough time  (Read 30322 times)

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Bryco

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Re: In for a tough time
« Reply #15 on: February 27, 2007, 12:52:35 AM »
Quote
The thing I hate the most about .net is I have to close and restart acad every debug
Agreed. That really put me off. The things I couldn't do in vba I couldn't do in net, so it seemed to be extra work for little payoff. I guess that's going to change soon as vba is given the concrete gumboots and I'll be left with no choice.

Glenn R

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Re: In for a tough time
« Reply #16 on: February 27, 2007, 01:46:11 AM »
Quote
The thing I hate the most about .net is I have to close and restart acad every debug

No biggy. Although I haven't investigated it, there is an edit and continue debug option in 2005...rather like VBA from what I understand.

The things I couldn't do in vba I couldn't do in net

I'd love to know what you couldn't do...

Bryco

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Re: In for a tough time
« Reply #17 on: February 27, 2007, 02:48:29 AM »
I was thinking about a thread on that, like an excel form with lisp vba net etc listing can and cant does. I only got as far as jotting a few things down, I know there are plenty more.
Well wipeout in 2007 is a no go in vba and as you said a no go with net. The rest look a bit like I need to listen to Kerry  and study up.
1) Ghosting (Inserts, rotations etc. require send command)
2) Add wipeout.
3) Make a layer filter active.
4) Set views and Ucs's in a split viewport.
5) Read and set dxf codes.
6) Set clip boundaries.
7) Get activeview that has not been saved.
8) Set imageframe
9) Recognise Rtext
10) Set arclength symbol
11) Add a command.
12) 3dSolid endpoints,midpoints etc.

Can do but requires lisp.
1) Math class- using  vlax-curve
2) Set LeaderType
3)Viewports- set viewangle and dxf 79 (Orthographic type of UCS)
4)Mtext width
5)Dimension block name
6) Imagedef, 280
7) Dims (dxf 10,13,14,50)

Kerry

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Re: In for a tough time
« Reply #18 on: February 27, 2007, 03:09:42 AM »
.....  The rest look a bit like I need to listen to Kerry  and study up.
....

I'll have a look at that in a couple of days when I put some fires out ...

I'm pleased that you realised I wasn't being antagonistic with that comment Bryco.


Regarding samples and doc's.
It's my understanding that AutoDesk will be having a push with samples and documentation in the forseeable future.

In the mean time there are some posters here and at the AD discussion group who are prepared to answer questions, provided the OP is NOT asking for his homework to be done.

I like a good bit of sample code as well as the next person, but I think we can't loose sight of the fact that NET and it's languages require an understanding of a different set of concepts to the ones we're used to.

I believe that theSwamp members can contribute in a tangible manner in the dissemination of valuable information ... all it takes is a little sharing of the stuff we're experimenting with.
kdub, kdub_nz in other timelines.
Perfection is not optional.
Everything will work just as you expect it to, unless your expectations are incorrect.
Discipline: None at all.

Glenn R

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Re: In for a tough time
« Reply #19 on: February 27, 2007, 04:52:15 AM »
Just about all those things you can do with .NET with the exception of DXF codes, but you don't need to as there are properties for just about everything.
Also, as of 2008, Wipeout is finally a fully fledged citizen.............with an API....YAY!

Oh, and RTEXT...don't know about that one. Layer filter you can do with some black magic, smoke and mirrors ;)

CLip boundaries, views, ucs's, etc. I've done.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Glenn.

Draftek

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Re: In for a tough time
« Reply #20 on: February 27, 2007, 08:20:40 AM »
Interesting discussion, thanks guys.

My experience:
Started with vba.
Figured out what a class was.
Migrated to VB6.
Figured out what a dll was.
Migrated to using com components.
Tried to migrate to C++/ObjectArx with limited success and understanding.
I switched to C# and haven't written any vb code in at least a year and a half. (except for some maintenance)
Have not looked back, hoping to never write any vb code again.


Kerry

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Re: In for a tough time
« Reply #21 on: March 03, 2007, 06:38:14 PM »
This was posted on the AD Discussion Group today.
I'm quoting it rather than linking as it is part of a long discussion and deserves isolating because of the validity of the statements included here.

Quote
"Tony Tanzillo" <tony.tanzillo@THE_URL_BELOW.com> wrote in message news:<5507199@discussion.autodesk.com>...

The .NET API for AutoCAD is far more powerful
than LISP or VBA/ActiveX.  However that power
has a price, namely that it is far more difficult to
learn and use. It has a much steeper learning
curve, and is also far more volatile (its relatively
easy to crash AutoCAD with it) than LISP or VBA.

The more important thing is to understand that
what you are talking about when you say '.NET'
and developing with it, are several things, that
are all regarded as prerequisites to each other:

  - Basic concepts of sofware engineering that
    are not language specific (e.g., what is an
    interface; What is an iterator; how to handle
    exceptions; garbage collection; and so on).

  - The development tools (C#, VB.NET, C++)
    and IDEs - skills and experience with one
    or more programming languages.

  - The .NET framework, an extensive API for
    general purpose development that addresses
    a very broad range of needs, and which requires
    years of experience in order for one to become
    reasonably familiar with, and able to use.

  - The AutoCAD .NET managed wrapper API
    for ObjectARX.

Equally as important is the order they appear in.
They are listed in order of skills dependence, and
each one is a prerequisite to the preceeding ones,
and is the order in which one must learn them.

IOW, trying to do it backwards is just not going
to work ;)


--
http://www.caddzone.com

AcadXTabs: MDI Document Tabs for AutoCAD 2004/2005/2006/2007
http://www.acadxtabs.com



kdub, kdub_nz in other timelines.
Perfection is not optional.
Everything will work just as you expect it to, unless your expectations are incorrect.
Discipline: None at all.

Glenn R

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Re: In for a tough time
« Reply #22 on: March 03, 2007, 07:42:07 PM »
Hear hear!

jjs

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Re: In for a tough time
« Reply #23 on: March 05, 2007, 05:07:27 PM »
is there anything i wont be able to do with vb2005 express that I will need to make programs for autocad with .net

Kerry

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Re: In for a tough time
« Reply #24 on: March 05, 2007, 05:17:15 PM »
There will be a couple of add-ons that won't work .. no biggie.

The Express Versions will service you well, even after you migrate from learning.

I thought you may try C# to make a clean transition Jeremie. 
kdub, kdub_nz in other timelines.
Perfection is not optional.
Everything will work just as you expect it to, unless your expectations are incorrect.
Discipline: None at all.

Glenn R

  • Guest
Re: In for a tough time
« Reply #25 on: March 05, 2007, 06:26:26 PM »
Yep - cut the umbilical and ditch VB  :evil:

jjs

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Re: In for a tough time
« Reply #26 on: March 05, 2007, 06:48:43 PM »
what is the advantage of C# over VB.net? I thought they both compiled to the same thing and that reflector or something can translate the one into the other.

Basically I want to be able to change the cct number and va load and panelboard of a receptacle. Seems like it is not exposed in vba. not sure if it is exposed in .net or not. Seems you have to pay thru the nose to do it with C++ because you can't get OMF without ADN. The more I use ABS, the less I like it. Everything is way harder than it should be. They give you a crappy program and make you pay to fix the program that they overcharged you for in the first place.

Nathan Taylor

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Re: In for a tough time
« Reply #27 on: March 05, 2007, 07:29:19 PM »
what is the advantage of C# over VB.net? I thought they both compiled to the same thing and that reflector or something can translate the one into the other.

It is simply personal preference. I use VB.NET and like it. I have better things to do with my time than needlessly learn a new language.

TR

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Re: In for a tough time
« Reply #28 on: March 05, 2007, 09:38:28 PM »
I have better things to do with my time than needlessly learn a new language.

VB.NET is a new language. It is not really similar to VB6 or VBA.

TR

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Re: In for a tough time
« Reply #29 on: March 05, 2007, 09:39:51 PM »
I constantly see the .NET framework and more importantly AutoCAD's .NET API put on some kind of pedestal, which is fairly undeserving.

First and foremost C# is not a tool that requires some sort of superhuman powers to be able to program in. If you are fairly competent in general programming concepts you should be able to bang out some code after spending an hour or two reviewing some tutorials to get an understanding of the syntax. Perhaps it will not be the most beautiful chunk of code floating around nor the most efficient, but it will work.

Wow, .NET has a standard library. Big deal, most modern programming languages have them. However it doesn't mean you must spend weeks/months mastering them. When you encounter a problem is the time to examine the tools to solve them, you don't examine the tools in the event that the problem may arise. I've been programming in python for several years, and am quite proficient but I can honestly say that I don't understand how to use telnetlib from the standard library. Most likely because I've never written a program that had to interface with telnet.

The .NET api is only tough for people to grasp because it is fairly new, not well documented(from what I have seen although I may be wrong) and there aren't very many tutorials online. I believe that once AutoCAD's .NET API matures you will start seeing some solid tutorials online to take some of the mystery out of the API, as you see with v/lisp and VBA.