Understanding Visual LISP

Hi all,

I am working in autolisp for last 3 months .. well, I can say that I can handle autolisp now.. from last 2-3 days I am trying to get some basic knowledge in Visual LISP .. but I failed to understand it .. its seems like there is a huge diffrence between autolisp and visual lisp.. I dont know how ppl consider Visual Lisp as a extention of Autolisp.

can anyone tell me what is the right process to handle visual lisp.. or any basic tutorial of Visual lisp? after 2 days of hard trying I failed to understand the use and meaning of VLA and VLX

,,,,

Subho

Kolkata

India

I dont know how ppl consider Visual Lisp as a extention of Autolisp.

This is since it was introduced as an addition to AutoLISP language and you cannot write a routine solely by VL fuctions*.

* now someone will post an example to prove me wrong.

* now someone will post an example to prove me wrong.

I for one can try, but i'm not going there MSasu

@nila_joy

VLISP adds a set of functions to the AutoLISP language that provides access to ActiveX objects. So I guess you can say that it is an extension. But VL & VLAX functions are privy only for Windows users. you can throw this out of the door for Mac users. AND it is not limited to AutoLISP but for the use especially on Visual basic Codes. (which i heard is heading out the door as well for newer cad versions)

Learn lisp and some Vlisp Huh ? Vlisp has some good advantages in properties area like name colour linetype in that you can use those words get-color put-color compared to about 10 lines to do the same with assoc. VBA had the same type of syntax and made some stuff really easy single line code. My newer code has more VL in it thanks to Cadtutor just read as many posts as possible and borrow the interesting bits.

Interesting about MAC many years ago did a MAC version of a commercial product and it was coded different.

I recommend that you buy the Visual Lisp developers bible by David Stien:

http://www.amazon.com/Visual-Developers-Bible-Edition-ebook/dp/B004I43BFK

there are some good starter tutorials on the AfraLisp site:

http://www.afralisp.net/visual-lisp/

And you'd be lost without the ActiveX reference. If you don't have an old ACad (where they still shipped with the chm file) then look here: http://entercad.ru/acadauto.en/

It seems most of the vl stuff, and some of the vlax (especially vlax-curve-*) appears to work fine on BricsCad on Linux. So I'm guessing they might just work on Mac as well. It's only when the code is calling ActiveX objects that it becomes a windows-only-club, ActiveX is a windows thing.

I personally learned a lot about AutoLISP & Visual LISP from RobertB (aka R. Robert Bell) in this thread:

http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?123198-HOT!-Keys

** Edit - Having just re-read that thread... I was one ballsy SoB, even back when I first started... "Hey Mr. Autodesk University speaker, and published AutoCAD authority, you did it wrong."

HTH

http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?123198-HOT!-Keys

FWIW, I would've jump on the same conclusion if i saw that post. and I would've said "Aha!! Guess you woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, That is not Visual lisp. check your code mister"

Kidding aside, Thats one great info right there Renderman.

Kidding aside, Thats one great info right there Renderman.

Thanks, Pbe.

This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." - Edith Wharton

... Smart lady, she is.