Topic: What's the best way to start learning about reactors

[Coder]

Hello .

I wonder how to start with reactors and where to start form , could anyone tell me how to start with it from  A to Z please ?

Thanks .

[Lee Mac]

AfraLISP has a 3-part tutorial here:

http://www.afralisp.net/visual-lisp/tutorials/reactors-part-1.php

Or, the Visual LISP IDE Help Documentation has a tutorial under the section:

AutoLISP Tutorial  >  Acting with Reactors

[alanjt]

Coupled with a **** load of question asking and practice. 

[TimSpangler]

Hopefully you start with a full head of hair, 'cause once you've finished, you won't have any... 

[Coder]

Thank you Lee for the link , it is very helpful .

Tim , do you recommend me not to continue learning and studying Reactors ?

hair gonna drop down now or later , correct ? 

Thanks

[irneb]

Hopefully you start with a full head of hair, 'cause once you've finished, you won't have any... 

Aint that the truth!

Reactors are POWERFUL ... but with the power to do "good" comes the possibility to screwup extremely easily! So when you do "learn" to use them, do so on things where you're not too worried about losing data / crashing ACad. Only once you've gotten your reactor to be "robust" by testing for as many scenarios as you can think of would I suggest you start using them in production.

[Lee Mac]

IMO, that is one of the main difficulties in using reactors: you need to think of every possible eventuality and include code to allow for it. Even after doing so, I'm never confident that I have a robust application...

I think reactors are better used for applications which aren't tied to a drawing - i.e. reactors to change layers or system variables when certain commands are called, or reactors to log time etc, instead of reactors to create 'custom' objects, which react when modified.

[TimSpangler]

Thank you Lee for the link , it is very helpful .

Tim , do you recommend me not to continue learning and studying Reactors ?

hair gonna drop down now or later , correct ? 

Thanks

Absolutely not, I would continue, but as others have said, they are not an easy animal to tame.  I have written a few but have only kept about half.  No matter how well you "Think" it's written, once you start testing it in the real world you realize that you still have a ton of work to do.  They never seem to work exactly how you want them (at least for me anyway)

[dgorsman]

IMO, that is one of the main difficulties in using reactors: you need to think of every possible eventuality and include code to allow for it. Even after doing so, I'm never confident that I have a robust application...

I think reactors are better used for applications which aren't tied to a drawing - i.e. reactors to change layers or system variables when certain commands are called, or reactors to log time etc, instead of reactors to create 'custom' objects, which react when modified.

+1.  +2 if the drawings go outside your company at any point.  No telling who is going to do what with them (copy/paste, WBLOCK, DXFOUT/IN, etc.) that will break any internal linkages you set up for your own reactors.

Start out with something simple, such as a save reactor which makes an indexed copy of the file to a backup folder.

[Coder]

Thanks for the advises gentlemen .

Highly appreciated .