Author Topic: C# book for AutoCAD  (Read 24014 times)

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mohnston

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Re: C# book for AutoCAD
« Reply #30 on: May 04, 2007, 01:53:39 PM »
If I hadn't already spent my $5, I would give it a go. Vba to C# isn't that easy for me and since  you cant just run something to find out if it works, I have the feeling that it would be a lot less frustrating to learn vb.net then learn C#.
Although many slam vba, it's the kind of program I want. Memory management is one of the good things touted by Net, thank goodness for that, I don't really want or need to know how computors work (Well not at the cost.) and didn't have to with Vba. I know I'll get to like net in the long run, but it is a shame to me that vba is getting the boot. Of couse, to be fair, if lisp suddenly didn't work I wouldn't be that bummed. 
Ahhh, the age old question "Which language to learn".
A few years back I went the C# route.
Looking back I think VB.NET would have been a good choice too.
Having that book by Jerry Winters (C# AutoCAD) is a big advantage. I used his books when learning VBA. I highly recommend anything he writes. They may not be the technical manuals that some programmers want but for me they teach better than any other book.

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CADaver

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Re: C# book for AutoCAD
« Reply #31 on: May 04, 2007, 06:47:35 PM »
   Being the rather lame hack that I am, I have to go with Luis and Bryco on this one.  The fact that Kerry is involved has already piqued my interest greatly.   
   I've been dragging my feet for the last ten or so years waiting on the "right" language to grab, and I think C# may be the one.  Writing it from an old lispers viewpoint would be a definite plus for me, but not necessary, but then you'd need to start simple for an old hack like me also.  One of my biggest complaints about any book on any language is the assumption of the writer that his audience understands a particular concept or phrase simply because it is common place to the writer.  (My first endeavor into a Civil program some twenty years ago, and the very first page of the book spoke of DTMs and TINs with not a single bloody word of explanation of what the heck they were, took a week to dig up).
   Now for the format of the book; I like the dictionary approach with examples, however I like to see expanded “real” application examples as well.  The AutoCAD lisp function help file is a perfect example of what NOT to do with the dictionary approach, (look at Developer Help->Lisp Functions->BOOLE) where the examples given don’t give any clue at all about how to actually use the function in the real world.  Sort of, “Here’s how to use it to toggle “PickFirst”, <example code> and it works because this does that, and that does this, and that over there does the other thing.  I guess I’m looking not so much for the function definition as I am the “finesse” of its use in application.  (Did any of that make any sense at all?)
   I’ve paid nearly a hundred bucks for books that turned out to be little more than a door stop, and I’ve paid just a few bucks for books that turned out to be extremely useful. This might send Se8en off the beam, but for a book that will take me by the hand and walk me from “Wuts see-pound?” to truly understanding the concepts of the basic functions, I’d gladly pay a hundred bucks or more.  But hey, that’s just me.

TR

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Re: C# book for AutoCAD
« Reply #32 on: May 04, 2007, 07:59:20 PM »
If you want to learn C# for AutoCAD you should probably learn C# first. Try here

Glenn R

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Re: C# book for AutoCAD
« Reply #33 on: May 04, 2007, 08:16:41 PM »
Couldn't agree with Tim more. Learn the language first, then it's application to AutoCAD.

Kerry

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Re: C# book for AutoCAD
« Reply #34 on: May 04, 2007, 08:32:53 PM »
...............
Having that book by Jerry Winters (C# AutoCAD) .

That was VB.net ... not C# .. yes ?
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Kerry

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Re: C# book for AutoCAD
« Reply #35 on: May 04, 2007, 08:33:21 PM »
Couldn't agree with Tim more. Learn the language first, then it's application to AutoCAD.

me three ..
kdub, kdub_nz in other timelines.
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Kerry

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Re: C# book for AutoCAD
« Reply #36 on: May 04, 2007, 08:37:39 PM »
..............  but for a book that will take me by the hand and walk me from “Wuts see-pound?” to truly understanding the concepts of the basic functions, ..............

The MS Express editions and the video tutorials with their notes and web page tutorials aren't a bad place to start ... all at no monetary cost.
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: C# book for AutoCAD
« Reply #37 on: May 04, 2007, 08:48:07 PM »
Agree with Kerry - the shear volume of good info on MSDN is quite amazing, especially the webcast stuff.

You could also go to the Beginner Developer Learning Centre
« Last Edit: May 04, 2007, 08:50:35 PM by Glenn R »

CADaver

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Re: C# book for AutoCAD
« Reply #38 on: May 04, 2007, 10:18:49 PM »
..............  but for a book that will take me by the hand and walk me from “Wuts see-pound?” to truly understanding the concepts of the basic functions, ..............

The MS Express editions and the video tutorials with their notes and web page tutorials aren't a bad place to start ... all at no monetary cost.
I agree as well, and that is where I'm currently trolling as I get time.  My comments were related to how I would like to see a book constructed (at least one for which I'd pay large duckies).

LE

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Re: C# book for AutoCAD
« Reply #39 on: May 04, 2007, 11:57:03 PM »
The MS Express editions and the video tutorials with their notes and web page tutorials aren't a bad place to start ... all at no monetary cost.
I agree as well, and that is where I'm currently trolling as I get time.  My comments were related to how I would like to see a book constructed (at least one for which I'd pay large duckies).

I hear you Randy;

Coming from AutoLISP and moving from there to C++/MFC/ARX and now getting into C# has been a long road (as it is for so many).

I do AGREE with the comments from those that know and "have been there done that" experience.

Now, from my own experience, expending so many years lisping, you get a habit a BAD habit, hard to describe but it gets more difficult to learn an object oriented language, so maybe if someone come up with a conversion tables from autolisp to C# and step by step conversion of real world routines autolisp samples to/ported C#. That can be a great source if it is target of course to the lisp community.

Have fun.
« Last Edit: May 04, 2007, 11:58:21 PM by LE »

MP

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Re: C# book for AutoCAD
« Reply #40 on: May 25, 2007, 08:21:45 PM »
Late for this party but let me express my kudos in advance to those that would bring this to fruition.

:)
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David Hall

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Re: C# book for AutoCAD
« Reply #41 on: September 21, 2007, 02:13:03 PM »
I got my copy of "VB.Net Programming for Autocad Customization" by Jerry Winters today.  I hope to use it to translate all my VBA to C#.  I'll post back after I have read a little of it
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sinc

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Re: C# book for AutoCAD
« Reply #42 on: September 21, 2007, 03:20:38 PM »

Ahhh, the age old question "Which language to learn".
A few years back I went the C# route.
Looking back I think VB.NET would have been a good choice too.


There isn't a whole lot of difference between VB.NET and C#.NET.  I personally prefer C#, because I don't like Basic syntax, but others prefer VB because they don't like braces and semicolons.  Both of them use the same frameworks, though, so in practice, they are really quite similar.

TR

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Re: C# book for AutoCAD
« Reply #43 on: September 21, 2007, 03:59:59 PM »
I am working on a Bill of Material program for work, nothing fancy just external database reads/writes, drawing database reads/writes and drawing the geometry. I started the project in C#, got 1/4 of the way through and thought to myself "Man this is taking a lot longer than it should". I ditched C# Express Edition for SharpDevelop, used SharpDevelop to convert my C# code to BOO and after about 5 minutes of fixes that the code converter screwed up I was back on my feet coding away in BOO. I'd say I'm realistically about 2 to 3 times more productive coding in BOO instead of C# and it debugs, compiles and runs in AutoCAD without a hitch.

If I can find some spare time over the next week or so I'd be willing to craft a quick intro on how to manipulate AutoCAD via it's .NET interface with BOO if anyone were interested. If not I won't bother.

sinc

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Re: C# book for AutoCAD
« Reply #44 on: September 21, 2007, 06:29:55 PM »
I'd probably be interested.  I haven't tried anything with BOO yet, but I'm already a fan of Python.  It looks to me like Boo is a compiled language that is very-much like Python - is that the case?

I've been moderately-happy with C# - it's much easier to code with than C++ - but if Boo can create basically the same CIL code as C# and is easier/faster to code with, then I'm interested...

Have you done much with it?  Is there anything you've tried to do and couldn't, because the language doesn't support it yet?