Microsoft's Express development tools

[bill.young]

<Copied from another thread...fits better here>


We're working hard on ways to make the parametric Projects easier to create. One development that's got potential is Microsoft's recent release of free versions of their Visual Studio 2005 development tools...the "Express" Tools. They offer a handful of programming languages with lots of online tutorials and books available, and have created a "Coding 4 fun" site to encourage and support them. We're currently evaluating the VB and C# Express tools to make sure that they'll be a good fit for Project Wizard development (as well as Virtual Tools and all sorts of custom ShopBot applications), and will try to have more info soon.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/
http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/

[rhfurniture]

Well Bill, here I am.
To be honest I do not think I am a developer, just a scraggy ole sbp hacker.
Actually one reason I am persuing the documentation issue was that when I asked similar questions about a year ago I was told that it was being revised. Still?

Regards and Happy Christmas,

R.

[bill.young]

Hey Ralph,

"Developer" is a pretty loose term, but I figure that if you can write a program that does something useful that you're a developer for sure! All of the Project Wizard Projects and most of the Virtual tools started out as plain old part files that used with LOTS of INPUT statements...all Visual Basic or other development tools basically do is let you create an interface to make it easier for the end user to do the inputs that your sbp file uses.

The programming end of it all is the most interesting...to me at least...but is probably also the most under-utilized by ShopBotters in general. Unfortunately that means that there are lots of things higher up the todo list...it's easy to get distracted by "bigger fires".

Is there a particular programming command or topic that you have a question about?

Bill

[rhfurniture]

At present I am working on how to get stuff (3d & 2d) out of autocad and into sbp as neatly as possible - hence my interest in UX_DXF.
Most of it is fairly straightforward, though I am intreagued by the IIF operator, which I don't understand.
Is there any way of temporarily switching off the JH command?
I keep typing it by accident (habit) when using my X axis router, which results in disaster!

R

[bill.young]

Hey Ralph,

I've never used the IIF operator but will check into it and see what I can find out.

There's no easily re-enabled way that I know to disable the JH command, but in the Windows software the JH command actually calls Custom Cut #99. You could create a version of Custom Cut #99 with nothing in it and then switch back and forth between that and the default one when you wanted to turn JH on and off, but I'm guessing that it would probably end up being a pain after a while!

Bill

[rhfurniture]

Good one!!!***###
I am sure I can work with that.
(I'll put a variable in the wild that disables it when I'm working with the X spindle)
I must have a poke through the custom cuts and see what else you get up to.

Thanks Bill.

R.

[beacon14]

as long as you asked, where can I find a list of system variables, and a list of currently supported programming commands. I can do a lot with inputs and if..thens but I'm sure there's more I'd like to know about - but I've never even seen a list of what's possible.

[rhfurniture]

There is an out of date programming handbook, and an up to date system variable list, and maths operators list, in the documentation with the current version shopbot software.

ralph.

[bill.young]

Hey guys,

There are also some documents in the Developer Tools folder in the Windows install that might be of interest, including a text file that list some changes to the way a couple of the Programming Statements work in the Windows software.

You'll find them in "C:\Program File\ShopBot\Developer Tools\Docs"

Bill

[rhfurniture]

Bill,
To quote:

>PRINT forces the PartFile Message Window to >Display.
>I've coded a timer to remove it, say after 30 sec >... but have not activated it. I'm not sure it's >the best way to handle it.
>At the moment, you can remove it by just using >the VD command (with the Show Comments set to 0 >if they are not already).

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not do this. I depend on this message box in my files.

>*** ... we'll also want to come up with a >MessageBox function for users/programmers.

Good idea. I can get close using input and the MESSAGE BOX (threatened with death above), but it could be slicker.

Ralph.

[bill.young]

Hey Ralph,

1) I'll pass this on..at the moment it displays forever until you close it manually or in a file with the VD command.

2) a more customizable Message Box is close to the top of the list for programming command additions.

Bill