What can McNeel do to improve your development?

Rhino Developer
21

We completely agree with everyone’s request for new/better/improved/complete documentation. We hope to address this in the future.

I going to create a new thread for this…

1 Like
22

This is pretty hard to get correct since python is not a strongly typed language. That being said, I think we can improve on what we currently support. @alain, can you look into improving this for V6?

23

If we had better “getting started” documentation, would this help? Would you still need a course?

24

Hi @dale, @stevebaer and @Alain,

what i´ve meant is that we get code completion for RhinoCommon methods like below eg.:

import Rhino

def SomeFunction():
    pt = Rhino.Geometry.Point3d(0,0,0)
    pt. # does not bring up anything

I know this is a lot to ask for but it would be extremely valuable for the Python editor.

c.

3 Likes
25

+1

26

RhinoCommon has come a long way since the old SDK, and its fantastic. But I agree with @fraguada about completing the SDK documentation,

I also agree with @menno about creating two types of documentation, one for entry level, and one for advanced topics, in multiple languages (C#, .Net, Python, etc). Having it consolidated in one location will make it easy to search for solutions. I travel frequently and it would be nice for users to have the ability to download offline documentation as well.

All in all, great work!!

27

Yes, that’s definitely something I’m looking into.

28

Hi @Dale,
a starting kit it’s a good thing but, because the language, I would prefer a proper course taken in person with real teacher. Maybe because I am a teacher…
I think with a teacher you could get more information, more “shade”.
I started the rpython 101 and never taken the end. I’m still missing lot of concept also if I read it more than 5 time. (maybe I need just an English course!?!?)

Ps: just asked to Steve how to organize a course in Italy :wink:

29

This is something that @piac can help you with. Giulio provides courses or can put you in contact with someone else if he is not available.

1 Like
30

Here are my wishes:

1- Have a proper integrated UI system with sliders, radio buttons, tags, values etc.
… Like this: http://mkmra2.blogspot.no/2012/12/creating-graphical-user-interfaces-with.html

2- Get keyboard and mouse input and control within Rhino.
… So we can control and manipulate stuff with arrowkeys or other keys

3- Complete Python so it has all the tools RhinoScript has with out the need to turn to Rhino Common.

4- Have a simple introduction to RhinoCommon within the editor + integrated help.
… When Python is not poweful enough or lacks tools then it would be great if it was simpler to turn to Rhino Common.

Thanks for asking.

2 Likes
31

Dear McNeel-Team i would love to see:

  • Starting with Rhino-Development, Pick the right environment:
    I think many user out there would be happy to have an easy to understand comparison of rhinoscript, rhinophyton, .net, rhinocommon, developing grasshopper-plug-ins, c++ plug-ins, commandline-scripts…
    maybe a simple table with: programming-pre-Knowledge-Level, Performance, complexity of user-interaction / possibility of GUI, lerning-curve, where to start, limitations (Windows, Mac, Rhino 4,5,32bit,64bit,visual studio express or 2010…)
  • examples examples examples, but nicely accessible:
    the rhinoscript101 is great, the examples in the rhinoscript-documentation too. I think for rhinoCommon a nice collection of examples would be great. To start learning: maybe for 3 or 5 scenarios (create geometry, modify geometry, organise the document, handle attributes, user-interaction, export); for each scenarios 2 or 3 examples.
    BUT:
  • i really would love to have a better example-search, maybe by keywords (similar to scenarios, searchable by used classes/functions
  • a vice-versa connection between samples and documentation
  • And please improve the online-documentation search function, or provide a documentation on how to advance search. AND,NOR,*Placeholder. At the moment “userstring” will not find "GetUserStrings
  • to make this forum a solution-database, a more stackoverflow - mentality / function would be great, best answer, mark as solved, keywords
  • clean up all the different places where developer-information is distributed…

but i love Rhino…

32

FWIW -

Developer (general) start here http://wiki.mcneel.com/developer/home
RhinoCommon developer start here http://wiki.mcneel.com/developer/rhinocommon

RhinoCommon examples are to be found here



and docs are here http://4.rhino3d.com/5/rhinocommon/ - this documentation is littered with examples too.

33

Some documentation on the coercing functions would be fantastic, there are still RS methods that behave differently in PY and GHPY. Guide for best practices would also be nice. And it would be great to have a future development direction insight. Like what is the future of the *.ghpy container? Only R6?

34

Agree with you completely.

35

Hi Dale,
David’s RhinoScript primer made me programming in just a few days. Absolutely great. So I think a primer like this for C++, .NET would be very useful.

thanks, Tobias

2 Likes
36

The link to download the Rhinoscript doesn’t work:!
http://www.rhino3d.com/download/legacy/download?download_id=RhinoScript101

Could some one maybe share the primer!?

Tanks

/\Matthijs

37

Try this link for RhinoScript …

http://wiki.mcneel.com/developer/rhinoscript

EDIT: Crap, it doesn’t link to the primer on link from this page.

Here is link to revision 3 pdf from my Dropbox …

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/11662598/RhinoPythonPrimerRev3.pdf

38

The broken link to the RhinoScript 101 Primer should be fixed now. Let me know if you find otherwise.

39

  1. To integrate API documentation and *.dll on the standard Rhino
    download as an independent package if the user decided to; in this
    way, API documentation and *.dll files could keep updated without
    needed to be downloaded manually, etc.

  2. An API documentation and script editing viewport: in the same way GH
    is going to turn into a “dockable” viewport it could be useful to
    have the documentation and coding window as a viewport too.

  3. A GUID, object name, current layer…, visualization mode in
    viewports to attach a small text to object and keep track on them. I
    think that it could be some kind of customizable option in which the
    user could write the variables that want to display attached to
    every object. I think that this could be useful even for 2d drawing
    generation adding some tweaks to include this data visualization in
    detail views.

cc/ @dale

41

I’m aware that this is a specialised request, but I think that there’s at least a small group for which this is relevant:

There should be a well-documented “optimization” API for Grasshopper, that makes it easier to develop optimization plug-ins for Grasshopper by providing access to Galapagos’ GUI and the functions it uses for interacting with Grasshopper.

ATM, these functions are spread around, and not all of them are documented.

Given that I know of at least four people/groups that have developed optimization tools for Grasshopper or are developing them, such an API would surely find some use.

Cheers,
Thomas

1 Like