Posts made by tomot

Mr Fry seems not to know a lot his own Britsh history. For example, he also could have written to the Queen asking her to apologize on behalf of the British people for the Irish Slave trade.

I hate self promotion. but the reason I designed:

Cabinet Tools Plugin for SketchUp
Component Cabinet Tools Plugin for SketchUp

was because of my dissatisfaction with other programs.
click on my plugins for more information

Also have a look at my newBookShelf Tools which extends the use of Drawers and Doors not only to Bookshelves, but also to the Cabinet Tools Plugin

cheers!

Interesting!
"A picture is worth a thousand words" .....will it contain the ability to include small graphics that provide better feedback to the user. A simple line of text in a dialog box with a cryptic title such as Depth of Window Sill, is hard to visualize.

@tig said:

So ac=**63.0** and then in the equation ad = Math.asin(db * Math.sin(ac**.degrees**) / dc).radians
Now 'ad' is in degrees again, so when you Math equation processes it uses ad.degrees

I was not confused between degrees and radians. Its the same way angles are treated in many languages, I'm quite familiar having written AutoLisp routines years ago, which also uses degrees and radians. Its more about me learning how to write the same code in Ruby
.........I finally see in your example how .degrees gets added, its really simple once I saw your example.

thanks for the explanation Aerilius:

opposite=4; adjacent=3; angle=Math.atan(4/3).radians
45.0
string=".degrees"
.degrees
angle1=angle.to_s << ".degrees"
45.0.degrees

Its also great news because it finally allows me to make the acceptable 45.0.degrees substitution into the Sine Law that TIG was so kind to put into Ruby form.
http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=53118

Does Ruby have this ability? It appear to me it does not, unless my search and coding is in error.

For example:

opposite=4; adjacent=3; angle=Math.atan(4/3).radians
45.0
string=".degrees"
.degrees
angle1=angle+string
Error: #<TypeError: (eval):4542:in `+': String can't be coerced into Float>
(eval):4542
(eval):4542

FYI: Autolisp: can concatenate a string and an integer: such that

angle1=angle+string
45.degrees

Ok!...... one more time, lets see if can get my question across

Lets take a portion of your nicely illustrated example of the Sine Law.

db=4.7; dc=5.5; ac=63.degrees; ad = Math.asin(db * Math.sin(ac) / dc).radians
49.5882674686285

ad = 49.5882674686285 but more importantly if I were to use the value ad and substitute its into lets say another sine formula I would NOT get the correct answer. because the .degress is missing.

So my question is How do I get ruby to append .degrees to the value ac = 49.5882674686285

I see some gaps exist in my previous query:

The Ruby Math Module has the job of evaluating math expressions. Its up to the programmer to provide the proper units. In fact regardless of the units I provide, the resulting evaluation only provides the numeric value, the units are never displayed in the ruby console.

In this particular case, I need the ruby code to include the value and the units: , which is .degrees in this example.
But because the global contains only the numeric value, the global substituted into the sine law, provides the wrong answer.

I order for the Sine Law to provide the correct answer, the global substitution needs both the numeric and unit value:

I would like the ruby code to make the correct substitution. Not manually as I illustrated.

2 added issues which I have not been able to find diagrammatically illustrated in the Ruby math code:
(I use globals only to verify the values in the console after the ruby has run)

1. How to subtract angles?

# Angle aaa = 180 degrees - angle aa 
$aaa=180-$aa
# 119.026476570893

# Angle ccc = 90 degrees - (Angle cc +Angle bb)
$ccc=90-($cc+$bb)
# 27.2834559031268

2. How to append an angle value to angle value.degrees?
   incorrect:

# Sine Law; does not give the right answer
$da=Math.sin(($aaa)*$dc/Math.sin($ccc)).radians
# 56.3706471942142

correct answer after I manually added .degrees:

# Sine Law; with the correct answer
$da=Math.sin(119.026476570893.degrees)*dc/Math.sin(27.2834559031268.degrees) 
# 135.21551555127 !OK

Tan angle to degrees?

# Angle aa
$aa=Math.atan(($raheight-$radepth)/($length/6)).radians
# 60.9735234291066 !OK but .degress is missing

Find length $da

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@thomthom said:

So it appear that it only work if it's all done within one action. Which is why my menu plugin works when SketchUp starts up, because the all the plugins are loaded within the same "loop" (??). ... This is awkward and annoying.

I can probably make it work, what I want to do, but it'll hard to debug as I need to actually restart SketchUp every time...

http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=52489&start=30

Yes its a great way to waste more time!
Its enough to make one take up quantum computing instead

I need help in writing a Ruby equivalent sine law......TIA!

example: Calculate angle B

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NOTHING! Zero! Nada!

One of the main problems I have, is verifying that the script runs in SketchUp.

1. Doing a load "Ruby.rb" in the Ruby Console does NOT always clear out the previous values. Hence I don't even bother to use it anymore. Its sheer insanity to constantly reload SU, then the script to see if the script runs. After 8 hours of programming a Ruby script, I spend more time doing 1. then actual programming.

If anyone here has ever written code in GDL for ArchiCad, you will discover that all the GLD code runs within the Code ArchiCad window, while the results of the code run within a 3D ArchiCad Window. Any changes in the code are immediately translated to the 3d window, while all code errors are immediately flagged in the Code window. You never have to quit ArchiCad while your writing code in GDL. ArchiCad also provides a standard user interface under which all user code is displayed and runs.

Now that's what I call an API!

There is no question we live in for interesting times, but then what times have never been interesting. ......I'm starting to sound like Groucho Marx

World Bank Insider Blows Whistle on Corruption, Federal Reserve
http://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/economics/item/15473-world-bank-insider-blows-whistle-on-corruption-federal-reserve

Greg Smith resigns as executive director of Goldman's European equity derivatives business
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/mar/14/goldman-sachs-director-quits-morally-bankrupt

The interesting thing about Bitcoin is that it’s made everybody start to talk about what money is, and why money has any value. If you think about it, since 1971, when the US came off the gold standard, the dollar hasn’t been linked to gold, it hasn’t been linked to anything. You have a piece of paper which says ‘In God we trust’, it does not say 'In Government we trust'. That piece of paper is absolutely meaningless. You’re putting your trust into banks and central authorities. The Federal Reserve which prints the dollar has nothing to do with anything Federal. Its simply a private banking corporation, which has the authority to print the dollar for the Federal Government. The Fed is also very busy these days printing more paper.

Bitcoin is a whole new idea about what money is, money is basically regulated by network and by the people.

Recently Central banks around the world are looking at the development of Bitcoin with a lot of fear, and not just central banks, but the traditional banking system as a whole. Bitcoin has been around since 2008. Regulators didn’t pay any attention to it, they dismissed it as some sort of monopoly money. But things are changing for Bitcoin.

Funny thing is, the dollar you use daily, no longer supported by gold, is also monopoly money, ... is it not?

Speaking of Gold; Germany recently wanted to repatriate their gold stored in US vaults
http://nsnbc.me/2013/04/18/federal-reserve-refuses-to-submit-to-an-audit-of-germanys-gold-held-in-u-s-vaults-2/

Which raises the question where is the Gold? ...is paper backed by nothing, nothing more than the ultimate Ponzi scheme?....do you care?.

I forgive Dan, he was probably off his meds again, although you can always count on him to give you his undivided attention when one is looking for a problem that needs solving. I'm not talking about dumping Ruby.

You can see the Visual Programming, in the attached pic, the underlying Scripting is what makes the 3d surface appear, but its not something the user has to concern him or herself about. If you want to experiment you can replace a DIV module with a MULTI module and see the 3d result instantly, or replace TAN with a COS module, etc. etc.

In addition, Download a free copy of Houdini from http://www.sidefx.com/index.php
and you will see the same principles as grasshopper. Houdini calls it Procedural modeling, as opposed to Visual programming. The process is the same.

other examples of what grasshopper can do generating experimental Architecture. http://formularch.blogspot.ca/

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I think Trimble needs a PR department, are they too Timid to announce and explain their
latest improvements to SketchUp?

If Web dialogs & Ruby are not they dead yet, they really should be soon. The only reason they may not be dead yet is too many people have invested too much time in this approach, and hence don't want to change, or lose their jobs. There is a new framework called Visual Programming & Scripting. All of them are Python based. Many 3D programs use Python scripting, furthermore Visual Programming & Scripting is making it easier to engage the casual user of 3D to make his or her own visual scripts, without much investment in learning programming.

Current examples of programs that use Visual Programming & Scripting:

1. Vasari & Dynamo for AutoDesk Revit: http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Vasari/enu/Community/Tutorials/Vasari_Talk_-_Design_and_Analysis_Webinars/Session_20%3a__Augmented_Parametric_Design_with_Dynamo

2. Grasshopper for Rhinoceros: http://www.grasshopper3d.com/

I realize most users don't like change, unless it offered by politicians, But I would suggest a new Python API be developed. I'm not sure if both a Python API and the Ruby API could get along together. If they can't, offer 2 versions of SketchUp one with either API. It wont take long before users will prefer to change to the new Python API. Particularly when they start seeing the advantages over the old Ruby API methods.

I hope Trimble has the courage to take a look this proposal.

In my considered opinion, Installing plugins is not going to get any easier, regardless of who tries to be in charge. Basically it all comes down to language.

I always use a step by step approach to any install procedure. Any long well intentioned paragraphs always get in way, and ultimately requires more explanation. The only reason 1% or 2% of my users have trouble installing my scripts lies mainly in the fact they have failed to read the instructions. Invariable when I remind them to reread a step they may have glossed over, the problem is solved.

But its not only the lack of reading that's the problem, its also failing to look at a pictures, that demonstrate additional information, such as what to expect after PayPal.

Ultimately some if not all of us like to communicate on a personal level, and I really don't mind giving additional help. In the mean time I will continue to make instruction writing less onerous and more understandable!

@tig said:

At the moment it's only a 'meme'...
A 'rumor'...

It might even be in Beta stage!

We already have a Ruby library depot, with complements to Didier, which he has maintained since 2004.

After reading all the rumored requirements to become a member of this possible new entity, it looks to me like another well intentioned bureaucracy of standardization.

I have always looked to this forum for answers, to programming questions, and to be enlightened, by users that have more skill in programming; and I hope that interchange will continue in this forum.

So what happens to this new 'Extension Warehouse' next time SketchUp gets sold?