Adding attributes help

[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!

[lothcat]

OK, so, now that I have that figured out, I'd like to know if there's a way to tell if a face is vertical or horizontal. It seems like face.plane would do that, but I've found frustratingly little about how plane works.

I'm not sure of the board etiquette. Should I post this question as a new topic, or is this OK?

[TIG]

@lothcat said:

OK, so, now that I have that figured out, I'd like to know if there's a way to tell if a face is vertical or horizontal. It seems like face.plane would do that, but I've found frustratingly little about how plane works.
I'm not sure of the board etiquette. Should I post this question as a new topic, or is this OK?

If it stops here no new topic needed... but if you want to talk about faces some more make a new topic...
Rather than face.plane try face.normal - that's the vector perpendicular to a face.
So if face.normal==Z_AXIS [or [0,0,1]] it's facing vertically up or face.normal==Z_AXIS.reverse [or [0,0,-1]] if facing straight down.
To test it a face is 'vertical' try if face.normal.z==0 - that is true as the normal has no element in the vertical [z].
With a bit of thought you can contrive other tests - e.g. if face.normal.y.abs != 1 is true if the normal doesn't face exactly in either of the Y/green axes direction - i.e. it faces in any direction except directly to the front or back...

[lothcat]

Thank you!

[eneroth3]

@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 really wouldn't save a ruby string as an attribute and later eval it. It opens up for code injection and lets people run whatever malicious code they want on someone else's computer just by sending them a model made to take advantage of this vulnerability and wait for the moment where eval is called.

[tt_su]

@eneroth3 said:

I really wouldn't save a ruby string as an attribute and later eval it. It opens up for code injection and lets people run whatever malicious code they want on someone else's computer just by sending them a model made to take advantage of this vulnerability and wait for the moment where eval is called.

+1 eval = evil

[driven]

@unknownuser said:

'he's good bad', but he ain't evil!

I tend to agree with this**[anchor= goto=http://www.infoq.com/articles/eval-options-in-ruby:2ingvk9h]article[/anchor:2ingvk9h]**...

eval has it's uses, that's why it's there...
john

[eneroth3]

@driven said:

@unknownuser said:

'he's good bad', but he ain't evil!

I tend to agree with this**[anchor= goto=http://www.infoq.com/articles/eval-options-in-ruby:13hbt2pf]article[/anchor:13hbt2pf]**...

eval has it's uses, that's why it's there...
john

There are cases where it's fine to use. I use it myself in my attribute editor plugin for instance to let people assign things such as 1.m or Sketchup.active_model.selection.first.length to an attribute. However executing code saved in a model opens up for people to forge an evil model that causes the code to be executed without the user knowing about it.

Also arrays are allowed and can be used instead of hashes when it comes to just serializing data.