Developing plugins for AutoCAD? [closed] - plugins

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I'm thinking about starting to develop a plugin for AutoCAD, but I have absolutely no knowledge of the field. How does the plugin system work? What are the licensing terms? What programming platforms are available?
I'd really appreciate if somebody could give me a primer, or, even better, link to some resources for the total beginner I am.
Thanks!

Prior to AutoCAD 2014, there were three basic plugin types for AutoCAD:
AutoLisp
.Net
ObjectARX
AutoCAD 2014 also provides:
4. Javascript API. You can find a link to the documentation at the AutoCAD DevBlog.
AutoLisp can be used with DIESEL scripts/macros to accomplish and automate basically anything that a user can due through the UI, and a maybe a little bit more, but .Net and ObjectARX are much more powerful, allowing you to create your own entities and more advanced behavior.
ObjectARX is a C++ interface, and the .NET classes are actually wrappers to the ObjectARX interface. The .Net interface abstracts things fairly well, but you still have to be concerned with the threading and possibly some other things as you develop more complex applications.
As previously mentioned, Through the Interface is a great blog for .NET stuff.
For ObjectARX, there is a good introduction at ObjectARX & Dummies, but for the deeper material the Developers Forums are a good resource.
If you are developing anything for people other than yourself, you should also seriously consider getting a registered developer symbol to prevent conflicts among different plugins. You can do that at the Symbols Registration page on the AutoDesk website.
Depending on your resources, you may also want to join the AutoDesk Developers Network (ADN), which provides access to software technical support, and early and beta access to upcoming AutoDesk products and APIs.

What type of application are you thinking of writing? I've written a couple WPF user controls that communicate with AutoCad. To do so, I used the AutoCad .NET Developers Guide found here:
http://docs.autodesk.com/ACD/2010/ENU/AutoCAD%20.NET%20Developer's%20Guide/index.html
This is a great blog to with some good video tutorials on it too.
This is a GREAT video if you just want to get started!

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What is the difference between a platform and a framework? [closed]

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There are a couple of topics on Stack Overflow and posts on the web addressing this question:
what is the difference between a framework and a platform
What is the difference between framework, platform and technology?
What's the different between Framework and Platform? Is nodejs both framework and platform? How about V8?
However, none of them really help me understand the actual differences between a framework and a platform as I conceive of them.
Examples of what I mean by:
Framework: Rails, Django or Laravel.
Platform: Node.JS or Meteor
What exactly sets apart a framework from a platform in the above examples?
Framework
A framework could be compared to a skeleton which needs to get some flesh attached to it. This programmatic flesh is usually provided by a specific application that links to and uses parts of the skeleton. So the actual work, ie. filling the holes and connecting the dots, is done by the application.
In programming, frameworks allow programmers to concentrate on the actual tasks they are faced with rather than to waste their time reinventing the wheel. Usually, frameworks are shipped with a set of predefined functions and classes. When using Spring (Java) or Symfony (PHP) for example, programmers do not need to think about things such as persistence, routing and session management too much because the work is done by standardized framework components.
Platform
A platform, on the other hand, provides both the hardware and the software tools needed to run an application - be it a standalone program or one which has been built on top of a framework. Mostly, it comes in the flavor of Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), meaning that the code-basis of the platform software itself is not distributed or licensed. Rather, it is part of a hosted solution running in a cloud which can be accessed via APIs or GUIs.
Typically, platforms are built as scalable multi-tenancy systems, providing access to many users at the same time, thus using economies of scale to be able to offer services with an affordable price tag. Developers can then use platforms such as force.com or Google App Engine to build and run their own applications. In many cases, these applications are more light-weight than standalone programs because most of the business logic is contained in the platform.
Source:
https://commercetools.com/blog/2015/11/19/framework-vs-platform.html

Pros and cons of WordPress vs. own PHP Framework [closed]

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I have a website build in own php framework, complete with an elaborate product catalogue and cms system. Now I would like to add a blog and I wanted others' opinions on whether to keep using the framework and develop it as fully integrated with existing website and cms or if I should use wordpress. I am leaning towards the first option but was wondering if I'm not missing something important about wordpress that should sway me.
I have never used wordpress before so will have to learn it first to customise it fully to my requirements (will be creating custom template). I know it's a great blogging tool for people not that into code, but I'm wondering that if you do know coding, if it's still the best option.
Opinions, pros and cons will be highly appreciated.
There are several reasons why you would want to develop your own PHP blog, but also several reasons why you should use an existing framework like Wordpress.
Developing your own:
Better understanding of how things work, making it easier to customize it.
The blog is fully yours, no license applies.
Using Wordpress:
A lot easier to create blog post
You can easily install themes etc. to customize your blog.
All in all, I would recommend Wordpress, but thats just my opinion.
Go with whatever suits your needs :)

Which content management to choose when developing is crucial [closed]

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I have been evaluating DNN over a few months. It has it´s pros and cons. I find it hard to evaluate systems by reading articles and don´t have time to check them all on my own.
What are your general feeling about this?
As my background is with .net, which system would you choose?
Also, does anybody know if these pages at stack overflow is based on a CMS and if so which?
Since everyone would rather spend more time criticizing your post than answering it, I'll give it a shot.
You have a few options with building a portal. Either go with an established, open source portal (like DNN), look into some paid solutions or build your own.
Open Source - I've worked with DNN and MojoPortal. DNN is a little slower and has a few more requirements to develop skins and modules, but it has A LOT more features and some of the free/paid modules are really cool. Overall, DNN wins here, but if you don't need a large portal and you want to keep development really simple, MojoPortal might be better. MojoPortal has a few nice features that makes it easier to configure.
Open Source (Other) - There are tons of them out there. Orchard is one I'm thinking of because I'm interested in MVC. But, it's still young in terms of features and support.
Umbraco - I can't really speak to this because I have not used it, but it does have some popularity.
Build it - This is an option and allows the most flexibility, but it takes a lot of time and so many features that are built into these portals could be left out. Role based access, page management, page/module permissions, downloadable modules, profile/profile properties, file management, skinning, acct management, menu management, event logs, etc
I left out non .NET solutions like ones based on PHP, Grails, etc because you are a .NET developer. There is plenty out there, but sticking to .NET will help speed your development up.... unless you are just wanting to learn something new.
Hope this helps.

iPhone 3D Engine for a WebGL Bike Configurator [closed]

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I have developed a WebGL bike configurator demo using Three.js. Given the fact that WebGL is not yet supported on iOS Safari, I have to port my app to Objective-C. Which 3D engine do you recommend?
What do you think about NinevehGL and iSGL3D framework?
http://nineveh.gl/
http://isgl3d.com/
EDIT: I need free/opensource frameworks
EDIT 2: I have found a great comparison of open source frameworks althought NinevehGL framework is not mentioned:
http://maniacdev.com/2009/08/the-open-source-iphone-game-engine-comparison/
Given that you are comfortable with javascript I would suggest using Unity3D so you can code in UnityScript which is also ECMAScript derived.
After trying myself NinevehGL and ISGL3D by doing a small demo for my needs I can say the following:
-NinevehGL 0.9.2: It's an easy to use framework. It's great but it lacks of many features yet. However, when more features gets added, it will be a great framework. I'm sure! The API is fully documented and you can install documentation directly on XCode.
-ISGL3D 1.2.3: It's more difficult to use. It has a lot of features. However, it has bugs which are not being solved. The reason for that is main developer don't have time to mantain code. Other developers has shown interest in continuing his work and have moved code to Github. But activity there is very low. What is active is isgl3d google group. The API is very well documented on framework's web.
So now I will try Unity like #ade suggested me...
EDIT:
-Unity: It's really a great framework. I have already done a demo and I like it over the rest. It is my choice now because 3D file importing system is very great and you can export your work to multiple platforms. If you like JavaScript you will like it. What is important is that if you have doubts or errors in your code, there is a lot of material online to help you in Unity answers ( http://answers.unity3d.com/ ). Finally, to get started check out this URL: http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/12321/how-can-i-start-learning-unity-fast-list-of-tutori.html

Transitioning from the web to the desktop [closed]

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Can anyone recommend a language, library, framework or book which focuses on GUI programming from the perspective of a web developer?
I have experience in web development, for example HTML/AJAX/PHP/MySQL among similar technologies. However, I have never programmed my own back-end, or any kind of standalone program. Does anyone have experience making this transition, and what would I best study to help make the leap from the browser to creating programs with GUIs (primarily for Windows)?
I made the transition from client/server applications to web development. The biggest single difference that took some getting used to was the loss of state. Since the web is stateless, but desktop applications are stateful, client applications have many more interaction and interface options easily available.
The best things to study would be some straightforward desktop application frameworks. For Windows you'd probably want to start reading tutorials focused on .Net desktop applications. Start with simple walkthroughs that you can try yourself to get a feel for what you'll be getting into.
Have a look at Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). It's GUIs are built with XAML, which is a language very similar to HTML.
You could also have a look at Adobe FLEX or Microsoft Silverlight, which you can use to build desktop applications.
In the short term, you could use Appcelerator Titanium to create desktops (or mobile) apps using the web technologies you already know. Pretty cool stuff, IMHO.
Assuming you are experienced from MVC design pattern, swing supports this pretty well:
http://www.javaworld.com/jw-04-1998/jw-04-howto.html
In particular you can use the spring framework with java desktop applications and have swing be the front end:
http://spring-rich-c.sourceforge.net/1.1.0/index.html