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Although simplistic it does remind me of my dream for a simplistic command driven language that actually does the tasks I want in a simple manner. I'm not think

Although simplistic it does remind me of my dream for a simplistic command driven language that actually does the tasks I want in a simple manner. I'm not thinking of tcl either, but if powershell was a lot faster and included support for a lot more things kind of like the graphics language mentioned here. Calling out to the Microsoft GUI tools is such a pain and not worth it given the glacial performance.

WillAdams 1y ago
I've actually been using OpenPythonSCAD for this sort of thing: https://pythonscad.org/ https://pythonscad.org/ paired with: https://www.blockscad3d.com/editor/ https://www.blockscad3d.com/editor/ it lets me rough out an algorithm (see the section on arcs in: https://github.com/WillAdams/gcodepreview/blob/main/gcodepreview.pdf https://github.com/WillAdams/gcodepreview/blob/main/gcodepre... ) interactively, seeing the result on-screen --- then once I have the rough concept, I can re-write it in Python, retaining this interactivity. EDIT: next step is to work up a batch file which has me running OpenSCAD on a series of files to output .png and .svg files to read them back in and place the output at the appropriate places in the document.
- 7thaccount 1y ago
  Nice setup to solve a problem. Seems like something I would do :)
  - WillAdams 1y ago
    Thanks! I kind of wish that I could find some tool like to Jupyter Notebook which would work for my needs, but I always run into some odd limitation.
- jerf 1y ago
  This seems a very surprising combination of technologies to turn into a visual prototyping language. Do you have a blog post or something on this topic that might expand on this workflow?
  - WillAdams 1y ago
    I suppose I should blog about this at: https://designinto3d.com/ https://designinto3d.com/ but I've written a fair number of posts on it at: https://forum.makerforums.info/search?q=gcodepreview https://forum.makerforums.info/search?q=gcodepreview and it has come up a few times at: https://community.carbide3d.com/search?q=gcodepreview https://community.carbide3d.com/search?q=gcodepreview and on the OpenSCAD mailing list --- that latter might need to be extended back in time to encompass: https://github.com/openscad/openscad/issues/2017 https://github.com/openscad/openscad/issues/2017 EDIT: also see my post history here, and this post might be what you are asking after? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44108440 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44108440 Reasons for the technologies: - OpenSCAD affords 3D modeling - Python was added to it which finally got me the ability to write out files _and_ mutable variables (programming this w/o them was an interesting intellectual challenge and resulted in a quite stilted programming style) - G-code is the _lingua franca_ of CNCs, so modeling that seemed a natural fit - DXFs are imported by many CAD and CAM applications, so supporting them was a no-brainer - LuaLaTeX is the current (La)TeX implementation, and I've been using/learning TeX since first checking out a copy of _TeX and METAFONT_ from the local college library Maybe the most important context is what my first project on my Shapeoko 3 entailed: https://community.carbide3d.com/t/locking-register-calipers-after-h-o-studley/658 https://community.carbide3d.com/t/locking-register-calipers-... --- drawing in Macromedia Freehand, making a one character font in Fontforge, doing V-carving using F-Engrave, then the balance of the CAM using MakerCAM (a Flash file formerly known as PartKam). The over-arching name of the project is "Design Into 3D", so also see: https://willadams.gitbook.io/design-into-3d/programming https://willadams.gitbook.io/design-into-3d/programming and you may find the (very early) Tugboat article: https://tug.org/TUGboat/tb40-2/tb125adams-3d.pdf https://tug.org/TUGboat/tb40-2/tb125adams-3d.pdf of interest. Glad to answer any other questions you might have! I'm hoping to have a project ready for a "Show HN" before 4 July.

WillAdams 1y ago

I've actually been using OpenPythonSCAD for this sort of thing: https://pythonscad.org/ https://pythonscad.org/ paired with: https://www.blockscad3d.com/editor/ https://www.blockscad3d.com/editor/ it lets me rough out an algorithm (see the section on arcs in: https://github.com/WillAdams/gcodepreview/blob/main/gcodepreview.pdf https://github.com/WillAdams/gcodepreview/blob/main/gcodepre... ) interactively, seeing the result on-screen --- then once I have the rough concept, I can re-write it in Python, retaining this interactivity. EDIT: next step is to work up a batch file which has me running OpenSCAD on a series of files to output .png and .svg files to read them back in and place the output at the appropriate places in the document.

7thaccount 1y ago
Nice setup to solve a problem. Seems like something I would do :)
- WillAdams 1y ago
  Thanks! I kind of wish that I could find some tool like to Jupyter Notebook which would work for my needs, but I always run into some odd limitation.
jerf 1y ago
This seems a very surprising combination of technologies to turn into a visual prototyping language. Do you have a blog post or something on this topic that might expand on this workflow?
- WillAdams 1y ago
  I suppose I should blog about this at: https://designinto3d.com/ https://designinto3d.com/ but I've written a fair number of posts on it at: https://forum.makerforums.info/search?q=gcodepreview https://forum.makerforums.info/search?q=gcodepreview and it has come up a few times at: https://community.carbide3d.com/search?q=gcodepreview https://community.carbide3d.com/search?q=gcodepreview and on the OpenSCAD mailing list --- that latter might need to be extended back in time to encompass: https://github.com/openscad/openscad/issues/2017 https://github.com/openscad/openscad/issues/2017 EDIT: also see my post history here, and this post might be what you are asking after? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44108440 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44108440 Reasons for the technologies: - OpenSCAD affords 3D modeling - Python was added to it which finally got me the ability to write out files _and_ mutable variables (programming this w/o them was an interesting intellectual challenge and resulted in a quite stilted programming style) - G-code is the _lingua franca_ of CNCs, so modeling that seemed a natural fit - DXFs are imported by many CAD and CAM applications, so supporting them was a no-brainer - LuaLaTeX is the current (La)TeX implementation, and I've been using/learning TeX since first checking out a copy of _TeX and METAFONT_ from the local college library Maybe the most important context is what my first project on my Shapeoko 3 entailed: https://community.carbide3d.com/t/locking-register-calipers-after-h-o-studley/658 https://community.carbide3d.com/t/locking-register-calipers-... --- drawing in Macromedia Freehand, making a one character font in Fontforge, doing V-carving using F-Engrave, then the balance of the CAM using MakerCAM (a Flash file formerly known as PartKam). The over-arching name of the project is "Design Into 3D", so also see: https://willadams.gitbook.io/design-into-3d/programming https://willadams.gitbook.io/design-into-3d/programming and you may find the (very early) Tugboat article: https://tug.org/TUGboat/tb40-2/tb125adams-3d.pdf https://tug.org/TUGboat/tb40-2/tb125adams-3d.pdf of interest. Glad to answer any other questions you might have! I'm hoping to have a project ready for a "Show HN" before 4 July.