Difference between compute.rhino3d and rhino.inside + node.js

Rhino Developer compute.rhino3d
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Hi,

I want to prototype a web app that uses Rhino in the back end.

I came across compute.rhino3d and rhino.inside for node.js examples on github.

What’s the difference in use cases between those two?

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Hello @evmatica
If you want to create a web app with Rhino in the back end, you’ll want to start with Rhino.Compute.

Rhino.Inside.Nodejs was just a test to see if such a connection could be made, but it probably wouldn’t be a practical way to run Rhino as a back end. It might be a way to provide alternative interfaces (in javascript for example) on a desktop.

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That’s helpful @fraguada… just thinking out loud, but could you use rhino.inside + node.js as a way of just sending rhino information back and forth to a service like Firebase?

I know you could use rhino.compute for this, but I’m thinking more of an inbetween solution if you didn’t want to develop a webapp but wanted a web-esque interface with rhino that could do HTTP calls to some endpoints? I’ve had a look at gh-web-ui previously but have had little success with it…

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Hello @Lukxf I don’t see why not. Rhino.Compute is how we conceived of making a Rhino into a geometry service. The project is there to see how we did it and you are free to learn from that to roll your own.

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Hi @fraguada

Thank you for the detailed response.

I would like to ask some more questions about Rhino.Compute, particularly about the pricing and testing. I saw a page about pricing some time ago but can’t find it anymore.

Do you guys offer any trial period / free tier / startup friendly scheme for low volume computing before I commit to a full Rhino.Compute subscription? I have a Rhino license but I believe Compute is a different product?

Would appreciate any info or someone I can speak with via email.

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You are charged for the amount of time you have compute running on a server. Recent versions of Rhino.Compute allow shutting down and restarting when the no calls have been made to compute over a defined period of time. If you aren’t using compute very much, you shouldn’t have significant costs.

https://developer.rhino3d.com/guides/compute/core-hour-billing/

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Hi @stevebaer

Reviving this topic on Rhino.Compute

Are there any good resources or templates that showcase how to access Compute.Rhino servers from the Javascript code?

I saw some great tutorials by Junichiro Hirokawa using with Python: Getting Started with compute.rhino3d for Python - YouTube

Are there any Javascript examples floating about? In particular, running Grasshopper definitions in Compute.Rhino

I am thinking of integrating Compute.Rhino backend with React

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Probably the best sample we have is our appserver sample. There are some how-to videos on the main page for that repo