Creating objects with a number of alterations to it

[raymw]

I'm wondering if the syntax for the user could be 'improved'. afaik, if I want to create an object with a number of alterations to it, say to represent a plate with a pattern of holes in it, I have to either make multiple objects, either adding them up as I proceed, or at the end, in a return statement, say. The alternative is to create an array, and add the holes there, which seems artificial, to me. Is there not a simpler construction that could be implemented, as in my commented code below, sort of incrementing an object in the similar way we handle other values?

Code: [Select]

// AngelCAD code.

shape@ main_shape()
{
   // create cube and 3 small cubes
   double d = 100;
   solid@ mycub = cube(d);
   solid@ hole = cube(2);
   solid@ holecube1 = mycub - translate(5,10,d-2)*hole;
   solid@ holecube2 = holecube1 -translate(90,5,d-2)*hole;
   solid@ holecube = holecube2 -translate(50,50,d-2)*hole;
 
   return holecube;
}

/*
shape@ main_shape()
{
   // create cube & 3 small cubes - the way I'd like it
   double d = 100;
   solid@ mycub = cube(d);
   solid@ hole = cube(2);
   solid@ holecube = mycub - translate(5,10,d-2)*hole;
   holecube =- translate(90,5,d-2)*hole;
   holecube =- holecube2 -translate(50,50,d-2)*hole;
 
   return holecube;
}

*/
void main()
{
   shape@ obj = main_shape();
   obj.write_xcsg(GetInputFullPath(),secant_tolerance:-1.0);
}

[Carsten Arnholm]

Today you can do this

Code: [Select]

shape@ main_shape()
{
   // create cube & 3 small cubes - the way I'd like it
   double d = 100;
   solid@ mycub = cube(d);
   solid@ hole = cube(2);
   @mycub = mycub - translate(5,10,d-2)*hole;
   @mycub = mycub - translate(90,5,d-2)*hole;
   @mycub = mycub - translate(50,50,d-2)*hole;
 
   return mycub;
}
What you are asking for would look like this (NOTE: code below does not work in AngelCAD 1.4)

Code: [Select]

shape@ main_shape()
{
   // create cube & 3 small cubes - the way I'd like it
   double d = 100;
   solid@ mycub = cube(d);
   solid@ hole = cube(2);
   @mycub -= translate(5,10,d-2)*hole;
   @mycub -= translate(90,5,d-2)*hole;
   @mycub -= translate(50,50,d-2)*hole;
 
   return mycub;
}
I.e. "syntactic sugar" where the above statement

Code: [Select]

@mycub = mycub - translate(5,10,d-2)*hole;
using a "subtraction assignment" operator it becomes

Code: [Select]

@mycub -= translate(5,10,d-2)*hole;
Compund assignment operators such as -= and += are currently (version 1.4) not supported in AngelCAD for shape@ objects. Is it important?

[raymw]

Thanks Carsten, I was neglecting the @mycub, and the error message I as getting, was not understanding what I was trying to do, but what it thought I was trying to do. So far, I've only played in a very small corner of AngelCad, my approach mainly being to replicate how i would physically make the objects, and I could no understand why I could not continually alter one object, but had to use intermediaries.