AutoLISP / Visual LISP book

[makelearns6]

I'm looking for community input on whether it's worth writing a follow-up to "The Visual LISP Developer's Bible". I still sell a few copies every month, somehow, which is surprising to me. I've also received a few emails over the years asking if I'm writing a follow-up. But I don't know if there's still enough interest in it, and I don't know if that book (any edition) was helpful, or what could have been better. Any thoughts/suggestions are very much appreciated! Thank you!

[BIG-AL]

Kindle, E-Book is the way to go.

One question are you David Stein ? The original author.

[peter]

Because Autodesk does not seem to want to invest in workflow automation or lisp, I rewrote lisp into a new syntax that includes errortrapping.
The library has 1000's of simple to use commands without the "russian" vla and vlax prefixes.
I would like to document this new syntax and make it available "open source" for programmers.
Try to breath life back into LISP programming.
It does not need any c++/arx/.net add ins. It is all written in LISP for LISP.
The module (like vl-load-com) is only 2 meg (thats right not 2 gig).

In order to make it useful I need help to document it.

Instead of writing a book on VisualLISP 2001 write one for LISP2021!

Interested?

P=

[BIG-AL]

Sounds interesting can you provide some more detail.

The macro record was meant to be useful but just look here no mention of it, I think it was ZWCAD wrote vba code when you used their macro record something that was useful. Something you could edit and enhance.

Its like opendcl a form/dcl generator badly missing from Autocad.

Now the move to Visual studio. But only if you have 2021 so for me can not use.

I have the 4 ebooks by Ronald Togores very helpful, he has released another for VS.

[peter]

Visual LISP is complicated. LISP2021 would simplify it.

(colorput <object identifier> 1)

where object identifier could be ObjectID, Handle, vla-object, entsel, ename, elist etc...

It returns T if successful.

(colorput <object identifier> -1)

would just return nil

Then you could use the try catch syntax

(if (and expression1
            expression2
            ...
            expressionN
    )
 return value or true
 return error
)

also

(color <object identifier>)

returns the color

This syntax can be used for 99% of com object properties

[peter]

How about self defining dialogs.

You supply the list of sublists

each sublist includes Prompt, initial value, justification, units, type of editing including editbox, list or even calculations, and variable to set.

The program writes the dcl and populates it.

It gives you edit boxes on double click of each row, or listboxes...

It stores the returned list too.

(defun CurveDialogDefaults ()
 ;           Field            Value       Justification Units 
 (list 
       (list "Velocity"          50           "R" "kph"   "E" 'sngVelocity)

       (list "Curve Angle"       90.0         "R" "deg"   "E" 'sngDegrees)

       (list "Bank Slope"        20           "R" "%g"    "E" 'sngSlope)

       (list "Centripital Acc."  2.8          "R" "m/s^2" "E" 'sngCentripital)

       (list "Jerk"              2.45         "R" "m/s^3" "E" 'sngJerk)

       (list "Meters or Feet"    "Meters"     "L" "Units" '(list "Feet" "Meters") 'strUnits)
   
       (list "Curve Type"        "Sinewave"   "L" "Curve" '(list "Hybrid" "Sinewave" "Trapezoid") 'strCurveType)
 )
)

[peter]

As far as opendcl. I like the concept of a visual dialog builder and Owen did a great job developing it. The problem is it is not maintained by Autodesk and it requires maintenance when AutoCAD builds change. I feel it is more of a greed motive to not make workflow automation a priority at Autodesk. They control the market and want everyone to buy licenses and pay monkeys to run them. The last thing they want is to increase efficiency. IMO

I do have a dcl editor that allows you to build dialogs with an editor. It is just not visual and it is written in LISP with all of its limitations.

Attached are some images of the editor and the output file.

[BIG-AL]

That is a great tool. Writing complicated dcl's can be difficult with multi rows and columns.

I think Autodesk are heading down the Dynamo path with the release now for CIV3D.

[Troller]

Great job! Congrats!!!!

[peter]

I have an enormous library of LISP routines and functions.

The problem is... I do not have time to document them.

Without documentation, they are fundamentally useless.

That is why I wanted to recruit programmers to help me document this stuff.

Documentation help files, and header files for the routines help others to learn.

Plus with my tools you can cut so many corners while writing them

I probably have 6000 routines in my library and several thousand unique routines and functions.

I want to polish them up and share them with others.

P=