Adding attributes help

[lothcat]

I'm having a hard time figuring out how to add attributes to an entity. Basically, I have this code that creates a face, applies a material, and then applies attributes - but the attributes aren't being applied. The Google Ruby API is no help.

I'm sure I'm just doing it wrong, but I haven't figured out what exactly I'm doing wrong yet. The Google Ruby API is no help.

Here's my code snippet:

face = entities.add_face pts
face.material = agw_mat
face.back_material = agw_mat #Everything up to here works
UI.messagebox "Applied the Material" # debugging UI prompt

face.set_attribute "agw_attributes", "exterior_color", agw_exterior_color #This, as far as I can tell, does diddly.

[TIG]

What is 'agw_exterior_color' ???
You can only save attributes that are one of the following:
integers 0, 1, 2, -99 etc
floats 0.0, 1.2, 3.56, -99.9 etc
strings '000', 'cat, 'dog', '99' etc
booleans true/false/nil
arrays [1, 2.0, 'three', true. [1, 2, 'cat']]
If you want to save a 'color' save it as an array - e.g. [1, 22, 33] for the RGB values and read it back and then 'convert to a color.
If it's a material then split it into its constituent parts ['methods'] and save these perhaps as an array of allowable 'types' - e.g. my_mat_array=[mat.name , mat.color.to_a, mat.alpha] (in string,array_of_3_integers,float - e.g. ['coal',[222,222,222],1.0])
etc if appropriate you can include data on texture, image, size etc etc...

[lothcat]

agw_exterior_color is a string - I'm only trying to add variables that are Strings or Floats. Actually, they could all be Strings, I just need to save the information in the model.

[lothcat]

It's a String. That isn't the problem. I thought maybe I have the syntax wrong?

[Dan Rathbun]

@lothcat said:

I thought maybe I have the syntax wrong?

You should get in the habit of parenthesizing your argument lists, later versions of Ruby will require it, and Ruby 1.8.6 spits out a warning each time you don't do it.
face.set_attribute("agw_attributes", "exterior_color", agw_exterior_color)

[Dan Rathbun]

Why don't you create a Material named like "agw_exterior_sandpiper" with the color and such.

Then the Face object's built-in material attribute can hold a reference to your "custom exterior material".

It's seems like your just making extra work for yourself, when it's already built-in.

[lothcat]

I'm not making it a material because I'm using it to model a house. Well, a wall, specifically. But a house in the real world. Once the person is done adding all the attributes and finishes their house, I'm going to have the program print out the attributes.

This is actually just one part of a larger construction program. The larger program will use the printed out attributes, but each wall (and floor, and ceiling, etc.) will need to be able to store them as part of the larger model.

I've modified them to this:

	 face.set_attribute ("agw_attributes", "exterior_color", agw_exterior_color)
	 face.set_attribute ("agw_attributes", "construction_type", agw_construction_type)
	 face.set_attribute ("agw_attributes", "location", agw_location)

but it's still not working.

[lothcat]

Now it's getting even weirder...

I changed the lines to read:

value = face.set_attribute ("agw_attributes", "location", agw_location)

Because that's the way it always is in the examples, and I thought maybe it needs to be set as a variable to be applied. It doesn't make sense to me, but hey, I've seen programming languages insist on weirder things. So I added this code snippet:

if (value)
UI.messagebox value
end

And, weirdly enough, that works exactly like it's supposed to.

Maybe it's a problem with the way I'm checking to see if the attributes are being applied? I'm making my test wall, turning it into a group, and then reading my attributes with the attribute reporter script from here: http://code.google.com/apis/sketchup/docs/tutorial_attrreporting.html .

I'm suspecting that it isn't reporting the attributes in my custom dictionaries. Have I been banging my head against the wall trying to fix a problem I'm not having?

If so, how could I fix the code to show my custom dictionaries?

Thank you all so much! This is not only my first Sketchup project, but also my first time using Ruby, so I really need the help.

[kwalkerman]

in your latest example, you would read the attribute as follows:

face.get_attribute("agw_attributes", "location)

[kwalkerman]

Also, I have found that in the following:

hash = {"q"=>"t"}

value = face.set_attribute("a","b",hash)

value == hash

however, as the Hash class is not a valid attribute type for set_attribute, face.get_attribute("a","b") is nil.

I'm not sure why a valid value is returned, but this could also explain what is happening.

[TIG]

@kwalkerman said:

Also, I have found that in the following:

hash = {"q"=>"t"}

value = face.set_attribute("a","b",hash)

value == hash

however, as the Hash class is not a valid attribute type for set_attribute, face.get_attribute("a","b") is nil.

I'm not sure why a valid value is returned, but this could also explain what is happening.

Perhaps make your hashes into arrays before saving and read back and convert...

[Dan Rathbun]

@tig said:

Make your hashes into arrays before saving and read back and convert...

No don't do that, you lose your keys.

Make your hashes into strings with hashstr = hash.inspect()
Save the hashstr into the dictionary.

To read, get the hashstr from the dictionary.
Then hash = eval(hashstr) to convert it back.

[Dan Rathbun]

@lothcat said:

value = face.set_attribute ("agw_attributes", "location", agw_location)

Do not put a space between the methodname and it's argument list.

If you are on Sketchup 8, you should be seeing errors generated in the console.
You DO have the console open when your debugging.. right?

The API docs still have errors, and the examples are often incorrect. There are many methods that do not return what the docs say they do. You should always check the bottom of each API doc webpage to see if one of us has posted a correction.

@lothcat said:

This is not only my first Sketchup project, but also my first time using Ruby, so I really need the help.

Click the "Ruby Resources" link in my signature.. follow the advice in the Ruby Newbie's Guide.

[Dan Rathbun]

@lothcat said:

... then reading my attributes with the attribute reporter script from here: http://code.google.com/apis/sketchup/docs/tutorial_attrreporting.html .

I'm suspecting that it isn't reporting the attributes in my custom dictionaries.

You can stop banging your head (oh the poor wall..) That script only lists the dynamic attributes in the "dynamic_attributes" dictionaries attached to components.

For testing you should write a little script to display your custom attributes in a multiline [url=http://code.google.com/apis/sketchup/docs/ourdoc/ui.html#messagebox:1btntpsp ]UI.messagebox[/url:1btntpsp]

Later you can get fancy and add a right-click menu item that brings up the listing.

Start simple... and build it better as you learn.

[TIG]

@dan rathbun said:

No don't do that [make a hash into an array], you lose your keys!
Make your hashes into strings with hashstr = hash.inspect()
Save the hashstr into the dictionary.
To read, get the hashstr from the dictionary.
Then hash = eval(hashstr) to convert it back.

I stand corrected.
A much better solution...

[lothcat]

@dan rathbun said:

If you are on Sketchup 8, you should be seeing errors generated in the console.
You DO have the console open when your debugging.. right?

Of course I do, but no errors. However, I'm using Sketchup 7, so that might be why.

Thanks for the links! I'll definitely be using the heck out of them.

@dan rathbun said:

The API docs still have errors, and the examples are often incorrect. There are many methods that do not return what the docs say they do. You should always check the bottom of each API doc webpage to see if one of us has posted a correction.

Believe me, I've noticed. Extremely frustrating. Stuff like that makes me want to give up programming and raise llamas for a living.

The corrections have been very helpful, though.

[lothcat]

@kwalkerman said:

in your latest example, you would read the attribute as follows:

face.get_attribute("agw_attributes", "location)

That was crashing my plugin. So I changed it to value1 = model.get_attribute("agw_attributes", "location") - and it's returning a blank.

There is no reason this line of code wouldn't work, right? So my attributes really aren't being applied after all?

[TIG]

When you use set_attribute(...) it applies it to the specified entity AND it's only attached to that entity [or later copies of it].
Your earlier code attached the attribute to a face... so when you run model.get_attribute(...) it quite rightly returns nil because you haven't attached that attribute to the model ??
You can attached an attribute to a model BUT your code is attaching it to a face.
You need to find some faces and then iterate through them and use face.get_attribute(...) on each in turn and get their attributes ???

[Dan Rathbun]

@lothcat said:

@dan rathbun said:

If you are on Sketchup 8, you should be seeing errors generated in the console.
You DO have the console open when your debugging.. right?

Of course I do, but no errors. However, I'm using Sketchup 7, so that might be why.

IF your on Sketchup 7.x (7.1M2) Free, there is no reason why you should not update to Sketchup 8.0M1 Free (as it costs you nothing.) The lastest MR of ver 8 has many fixes (including for the 'infamous' shadow bug,) that you will wish to take advantage of.

In addition, there are quite a few API fixes.

But one of the most important from the standpoint of Ruby coding, is that ver 8+ ships with a Ruby v1.8.6-p287 interpreter. All ver 7 Sketchup releases ship with the old obsolete initial release of Ruby v1.8.0(-p0) that has bugs in it, and many missing methods.

At the very least.. you can update the ver 7 interpreter DLL (if your on PC,) to the same version and patchlevel as is distro'd with Sketchup 8.x; read instructions in this post:
Ruby Interpreter DLLs (Win32) .

[lothcat]

@tig said:

When you use set_attribute(...) it applies it to the specified entity AND it's only attached to that entity [or later copies of it].
Your earlier code attached the attribute to a face... so when you run model.get_attribute(...) it quite rightly returns nil because you haven't attached that attribute to the model ??
You can attached an attribute to a model BUT your code is attaching it to a face.
You need to find some faces and then iterate through them and use face.get_attribute(...) on each in turn and get their attributes ???

You're right, that was stupid. I have it fixed now. Thanks!