Using Reactor to Update Multiple Blocks

[stusic]

Good Afternoon!

I was looking to increment the attribute on each copy of a block and I found a lisp routine from Tlindell that does almost what I need. It uses reactors to increment the quantity value in an attribute of a specific block, so whenever that block is copied/pasted/mirrored/etc, each definition gets renumbered incrementally.

However, this routine only looks at a single block definition, where as I need it to activate for multiple blocks (I'm creating a bunch of blocks prefixed with "Item"; i.e., "Item1", "Item2", "Item3", etc) and increment the attribute with the quantity of *that* block definition.

My question is: is it wise to have a reactor set up to update up to 30 or 40 block definitions? What are the drawbacks (if any) to this? I'm very new to reactors (they scare me), so any advice on the best way to go about it?

Thanks All

[BIG-AL]

Have a look at www.Lee-mac.com he has a nice block increment reactor also.

[BlackBox]

The scary bit can be overcome by rigorous validation of code testing on your part. Once you've established trust in the mechanism, you can begin to leverage it with confidence.

That said, for that to ultimately take place you'll end up changing how you look at your code and what it does (or doesn't do); more specifically, you're going to have to put in a lot more time and effort to fully planning out all of the specified, and implied tasks, anticipate every potentiality you can think of (and perhaps some that you never have thought of before), and validate the outcomes of the automation process that reactors provide.

Start small, make sure it works, and add complexity as you see fit, making sure it still works, but for all moving parts.

Reactors are pretty simple, particularly once you've established a level of comfort, but they can be equally problematic if not done properly - in your case updating myriad blocks at once, and without direct user action (or command line reporting of what's just been done?).

Be thoughtful, be thorough, and be mindful of the results.. Do these things and you'll do just fine.

Cheers

[stusic]

The scary bit can be overcome by rigorous validation of code testing on your part. Once you've established trust in the mechanism, you can begin to leverage it with confidence.

That said, for that to ultimately take place you'll end up changing how you look at your code and what it does (or doesn't do); more specifically, you're going to have to put in a lot more time and effort to fully planning out all of the specified, and implied tasks, anticipate every potentiality you can think of (and perhaps some that you never have thought of before), and validate the outcomes of the automation process that reactors provide.

Start small, make sure it works, and add complexity as you see fit, making sure it still works, but for all moving parts.

Reactors are pretty simple, particularly once you've established a level of comfort, but they can be equally problematic if not done properly - in your case updating myriad blocks at once, and without direct user action (or command line reporting of what's just been done?).

Be thoughtful, be thorough, and be mindful of the results.. Do these things and you'll do just fine.

Cheers

That gives me a bit of confidence. I know it's going to take a while to get everything sorted (especially while I do have work to do), but it'd be a big step towards putting most of our work into modeling and not into documentation. It should also help me be a better coder.

Thanks