Seeking an off-line developer's reference
As a general rule, I really don't like the idea of being dependent upon my internet connection for a program's help files. The BricsCAD developer's reference seems to now be only online. If there are any problems with Bricsys' site, or my connection, I would be unable to use it.
Is there a way to get this onto my hard drive?
-Joe
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As a general rule, I really don't like the idea of being dependent upon my internet connection for a program's help files. The BricsCAD developer's reference seems to now be only online. If there are any problems with Bricsys' site, or my connection, I would be unable to use it.Is there a way to get this onto my hard drive?-Joe
I can't provide an answer, but I do agree that there needs to be a local version available.0 -
You can save any page from it, or all the pages. Right-click and select "Show only this frame" and then either print to PDF or right-click and select "Save page as."0
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I am not clear about the method you use to save all the pages. Is it that you do it one page at a time, or can you save a main page, such as the LISP one, and get all the sub-pages?Also, as I look over what is online for LISP, I see that there is actually very little to teach you how to use LISP. Perhaps you need a 3rd party book for that.-Joe0
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Joe,
You can download the Lisp Developers Support Package (LDSP) in the Application Catalog under Developer Tools. If you are looking for something to teach you the fundamentals of the Language, http://www.afralisp.net/index.php and http://www.jefferypsanders.com/ are excellent resources. I also use the AutoCAD 2013 AutoLISP Developers Guide, which you can download in PDF format online. Hopefully the combination of these will help.
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There are also YouTube tutorials on lisp. If you want an absolute beginner level video, try
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_QY_iY6gB0
Or you can learn from the developer's reference, just by playing around with the functions to see what they do. You could go through the list and try each one. You just have to supply suitable arguments to each function you use (the suitable arguments are specified in the developer's reference). You can type any lisp function on the command line. The command line will reply by telling you what the function "evaluates to." If the function specified some action you'll see it in the drawing window.
Any lisp function has to be either one of the functions in the developer's reference or else a custom function made by using the (defun) function. You create lisp routines or programs by combining functions, using one function as an argument to another. Lisp doesn't follow the order in which the program is arranged on the page. Instead, it finds the innermost parentheses and evaluates that function first, then moves outward from there, using the value that an inner function "evaluated to" as the argument for the next function outside of that. (+ 7 6 (* 3 10) ) would evaluate as 3 x 10 = 30, and then 7 + 6 + 30 = 43.0 -
And then there the online resources like "CadTutor" and LeeMac's most excellent website....0
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You can download the Lisp Developers Support Package (LDSP) in the Application Catalog under Developer Tools.
I just looked at that in the App store, and it seems to just be for the BricsCAD unique features. In my case, I think I want to specifically avoid those sorts of commands, because I don't want to write code that will only work in BricsCAD.It is frustrating that I need to go to a 3rd party to get stuff that should come with the program.-Joe0 -
I don't believe there is a "one stop shop" for LISP programming. I started using AutoLISP back in the early to mid 90's when I was using AutoCAD Release 10 for DOS, and it has always taken experimentation and using several different resources to figure things out. You can also learn a lot by dissecting other people's code to reverse engineer it to see how it works. It is a bit of a pain in the rear, especially when you are new to it and it can be frustrating. I still get frustrated with it from time to time. All of the resources listed above are great to use, you just have to piece things together. You might also find the following command reference helpful. It also gives code examples for each function. The link is: http://docs.autodesk.com/ACD/2011/ENU/filesALR/WSfacf1429558a55de1a7524c1004e616f8b-5913.htm
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To the best of my knowledge there is no Lisp reference that is complete, even for Autocad. For documentation I use a combination of what is available at the Bricscad site and the Autocad developer's reference. The most helpful resource for me is www.theswamp.org. Lots of source code, and the best lisp developers I know of frequent theswamp.0
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I am not clear about the method you use to save all the pages. Is it that you do it one page at a time, or can you save a main page, such as the LISP one, and get all the sub-pages?Also, as I look over what is online for LISP, I see that there is actually very little to teach you how to use LISP. Perhaps you need a 3rd party book for that.-Joe
Joe,
i would suggest the book (also kindle) by REINALDO N. TOGORES
It's a good structured, well thought out presentation of all the concepts of Autolisp and Visual Lisp in 4 Parts.
Equally good for young and old, junior and senior, newbie, intermediate and advanced.
http://en.togores.net/book
http://en.togores.net/home
http://www.amazon.com/Reinaldo-N.-Togores/e/B00C9AUYD20 -
Is there a way to get this onto my hard drive?
I also believe these files should be installed locally. I am not always operating in an environment where I can be connected to the internet.
Support request response, from March 2014, was the files can be downloaded, there is no plan to include them in the install sets, a link may get added to the CHM files on the Bricscad documentation page (but I don't see it there yet).
So the links I was given are:
Developers Reference
DotNet Reference0 -
Thanks Greg. Those links are precisely what I was looking for.Personally, I think the files themselves should be included with the install. At least they should have links to them in the help files if they are concerned that the documentation is changing often, and want to keep it online because of that.Perhaps the documentation should have a separate "check for updates" function to get the latest help files to your hard drive.-Joe0
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I just looked at that in the App store, and it seems to just be for the BricsCAD unique features. In my case, I think I want to specifically avoid those sorts of commands, because I don't want to write code that will only work in BricsCAD.It is frustrating that I need to go to a 3rd party to get stuff that should come with the program.-Joe
Most of the functions listed in the LISP developer package can be made compatible by inclusion of the VLE-Extension.lsp file. This LISP file emulates the VLE functions so that they are available in the likes of AutoCAD, older versions of BricsCAD etc...
VLE-Extension.lsp is included with the developer package, and can also be found in your BricsCAD installation folder.
to use, simply load with your LISP routine, or add to on_doc_load.lsp/acaddoc.lsp
[code](load "vle-extension.lsp") ; VLE Library Emulation for AutoCAD 2000 and higher[/code]
Using VLE has two main benefits that I can see:- In BricsCAD your code will generally run faster. In AutoCAD it will still run, but without the speed enhancement.
- Saves you from having to develop your own functions, which can be time consuming. I would think this is particularly beneficial for users new to LISP.
Jason Bourhill
CAD Concepts0
This discussion has been closed.