IRC log for #brlcad on 20080216

02:52.10 *** join/#brlcad Axman6 (n=Axman6@pdpc/supporter/student/Axman6)
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14:39.43 ``Erik new laptop screen cleaner... http://cache.valleywag.com/assets/resources/screenclean.swf
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15:59.17 CIA-4 BRL-CAD: 03brlcad * r30315 10/brlcad/trunk/src/nirt/if.c: the backout() callbacks are no longer needed/used since there isn't custom "reshooting" going on. we just backup the original ray origin now.
16:10.05 CIA-4 BRL-CAD: 03brlcad * r30316 10/brlcad/trunk/src/nirt/ (bsphere.c command.c): initialize negative so we can do some sanity checking, re-add the DEBUG_BACKOUT code
16:12.45 Axman6 brlcad: everything moved to subversion now?
16:14.55 CIA-4 BRL-CAD: 03brlcad * r30317 10/brlcad/trunk/src/nirt/ (bsphere.c nirt.h): reduce the style inconsistency insanity via s/ -> /->/g
16:17.39 CIA-4 BRL-CAD: 03brlcad * r30318 10/brlcad/trunk/src/nirt/ (conversion.c dist_def.c if.c nirt.h read_mat.c): use vmath's DEG2RAD instead of the weak decl it was using
16:23.35 brlcad Axman6: a couple weeks ago
16:24.11 brlcad rather several weeks ago, http://my.brlcad.org/wiki/Cvs2svn
16:24.53 Axman6 i just remember it was taking a while, wasn't sure just how long it was going to take :)
16:27.24 brlcad it took about a week on and off, about a half-dozen tries
16:28.01 brlcad nothing hard, just each try just took several hours of processing and there was a lot of validation I was sorting through to check that everything came across perfectly
16:32.55 Axman6 didn't it fill a disk at some point too?
16:36.16 brlcad heh, yeah -- the very first run
16:37.04 brlcad I made a lot more room for it to work for the subsequent runs, and upgraded to a newer cvs2svn that ran faster
16:38.26 CIA-4 BRL-CAD: 03brlcad * r30319 10/brlcad/trunk/NEWS:
16:38.26 CIA-4 BRL-CAD: Erik made nirt's -b backout option use the model's bounding sphere as the
16:38.26 CIA-4 BRL-CAD: backout distance instead of the hard-coded 1000 define and also made it use a
16:38.26 CIA-4 BRL-CAD: much simpler backout method by just backing up the original ray being fired by
16:38.26 CIA-4 BRL-CAD: the model's bounding sphere size. vaguely recall there being a request
16:38.29 CIA-4 BRL-CAD: regarding nirt's backout behavior, but don't see any hint of it. think it might
16:38.31 CIA-4 BRL-CAD: have been a verbal request/inquiry.
17:59.44 CIA-4 BRL-CAD: 03brlcad * r30320 10/brlcad/trunk/ (NEWS TODO):
17:59.44 CIA-4 BRL-CAD: per recent commits, Bob indicated that he fixed or at least hack-patched several
17:59.44 CIA-4 BRL-CAD: of the mged I/O bugs where gets in tcl mged wasn't working from stdin as well as
17:59.44 CIA-4 BRL-CAD: stdout/stderr going to the command window instead of to the console.
18:01.02 CIA-4 BRL-CAD: 03brlcad * r30321 10/brlcad/trunk/src/nirt/ (command.c interact.c): more s/ -> /->/g on files that weren't saved before the commit
19:12.33 yukonbob http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/~pbourke/exhibition/scc5/final.html
19:12.58 yukonbob ^--- POVRay Short Code Contest (#5)
19:17.05 brlcad yeah, I was looking at those a few hours ago :)
19:19.30 brlcad I like bourke's actual entries (which didn't place)
19:26.55 yukonbob hrmm... we need a brlcad contest like this... get the modellers out, create something exciting for the new website, and increase exposure...
19:29.36 yukonbob brlcad: how does one get in touch w/ the BRL-CAD community -- is there a mailing list I'm not subscribed to? There's got to me more people than the folks who hang out here...
19:34.35 louipc the mailing lists are very quiet
19:36.15 yukonbob it'd be cool to have a showcase where some of the savvy modellers from ARL + SERVICE participate, as well as non-professional (or at least out of that circle), and collect the displays and code for an exposition
19:36.40 louipc yep
19:36.53 yukonbob louipc: do you model?
19:37.14 louipc not really
19:37.36 louipc I have a tough time figuring out how to do it in brlcad
19:37.49 yukonbob louipc: do you do 3d work in other software?
19:38.07 louipc I've used solidworks
19:38.16 louipc and some various 3D art programs
19:39.06 louipc hmm yeah I should put more effort into learning actual brlcad usage
19:50.08 brlcad yukonbob: there are several hundred people subscribed to the mailing lists
19:50.26 brlcad the biggest audience, though, hits the website .. thousands per day
19:54.16 brlcad learning what can be done in brl-cad and how folks presently do model with it ..
19:54.47 brlcad .. very useful steps for knowing the best ways to improve brl-cad (both on the macro and micro level)
19:55.02 yukonbob hrmm... /me thinks that a contest (entries to be submitted by 17Mar (ie: Monday morning)) would be cool -- first one could be 'open' and then perhaps subsequents could be themed (ie: This month, the theme is "habitat")
19:55.44 yukonbob in the time until then, do you think it'd be possible to get a pannel of experts to judge submissions?
19:56.02 brlcad yeah, getting judges would be easy
19:56.38 yukonbob of course, they would be barred from entering a (judged) submission...
19:57.06 brlcad I'm actually be more inclined to hold contests that improve the tools first
19:57.24 brlcad i've been thinking about holding a bug-fix contest, for example
19:57.25 louipc there needs to be more documentation or help
19:57.55 yukonbob louipc: that's the kind of thing that would be shaken out during the course of competitions, though...
19:58.12 louipc oh yeah?
19:58.13 yukonbob brlcad: that's cool, too...
19:58.33 louipc how about a documentation contest :P
19:58.37 brlcad it'd have to be in isolated contest so that the contest docs are short and sweet
19:58.53 brlcad making procedural geometry database generators is usually a great/easy introduction
19:58.59 louipc for instance if I type 'help p' in mged it doesn't tell me anything
19:59.00 brlcad and results in a useful "plugin" tool
19:59.04 yukonbob louipc: sure -- you'd get lots of mail/irc saying "I can't figure out how to do [x]", and then it's identified as a potential weakness to the community/deves
19:59.05 louipc anything useful anyways
19:59.07 yukonbob *devs
19:59.37 louipc so I really can't figure out how to use this app, nevermind the gui
20:00.21 brlcad yep, understandably -- mged was never designed to be self-teaching or discoverable
20:00.26 brlcad things many people take for granted
20:00.40 louipc how do people learn to use it then?
20:01.00 brlcad going through the documentation, the tutorials and exercises
20:01.34 yukonbob louipc: like the king said "Start at the beginning, continue till the end, then stop."
20:01.45 brlcad there's also commercial training offered that most at ARL go through
20:01.57 yukonbob brlcad: via SURVICE?
20:02.09 brlcad but you can get a huge portion of the basics just from going through existing documentation
20:02.15 brlcad yukonbob: yeah
20:02.46 brlcad they're holding a class in a couple weeks for that matter
20:03.10 yukonbob brlcad: they must have access to awesome modellers (ie: people who model)
20:03.12 louipc yukonbob: you mean those pdfs?
20:03.20 brlcad expensive for common Joe, but pretty standard rate for business
20:03.34 brlcad louipc: yes, the pdfs
20:03.45 yukonbob louipc: yup -- I've got the mged cheat sheet on my desk, for example...
20:04.03 brlcad but contrary to some docs, instead of skimming through and seeing what's possible, actually reading them cover to cover and doing the exercises .. there's just too much to cover
20:04.52 brlcad from a complexity standpoint, mged's not really any different than solidworks, unigraphics, pro/e, etc .. takes about the same level of direct effort to become proficient
20:05.53 brlcad the main difference is that most of those tools have better in-tool facilities (i.e. a better UI) for learning as you go along, some even embedding tutorials (but then they also have dozens of devs that help make that happen!)
20:06.00 yukonbob brlcad: why does survice talk so much about being a "woman-owned" company -- and does that mean a single woman owns it, or a group of women?
20:06.19 brlcad that's a gov't thing
20:06.19 louipc yeah I did the mged intro one... actually that pdf has all the reference info at the end
20:06.31 brlcad being a minority owned or woman owned company is a big deal
20:06.56 yukonbob ahh
20:06.56 brlcad gov't has initiatives specifically tailored towards those types of companies, to encourage them
20:07.04 louipc woman owned haha
20:07.19 brlcad survice engineering is owned by a woman
20:07.39 louipc but it doesn't have any specific mission regarding women does it?
20:07.40 brlcad her husband actually runs the company, though.. :)
20:08.00 yukonbob heh -- sounds like a shell game
20:08.06 brlcad no, has absolutely nothing at all to do with what the company *does*
20:08.26 brlcad just a metric for contracting and purchasing rules
20:08.49 yukonbob brlcad: you know lots (any) people at survice?
20:10.16 brlcad e.g. if you want to buy a new printer, for example -- that goes out as a contract where basically the gov't solitics bids from companies -- there are federal mandates that say the gov't has to conduct N% of their annual business with minority/women owned companies so generally given offers from companies A, B, and C, if one of those is a minority they will get priority
20:10.22 brlcad even if they're not the lowest bid
20:10.57 brlcad yukonbob: a fair bit, yes
20:11.38 yukonbob brlcad: is BRL-CAD a big part of what they do, a small part, or just "a part"?
20:11.38 brlcad oh and to answer the earlier bit, the course is taught by one of the expert modelers, he's .. very .. good.
20:11.59 brlcad somewhere between a part and a small part on the whole
20:12.16 yukonbob do they contribute code/ideas back to BRL-CAD?
20:12.25 brlcad yep
20:12.45 brlcad ideas and feature requests all the time
20:12.56 brlcad archer was entirely a contribution from them
20:13.43 brlcad I still won't be happy until the UI is revamped ;)
20:13.51 brlcad it's very powerful as is, but it needs a new UI
20:14.49 brlcad the trick is how to make a new UI that leverages the power and tools that are already there, without rewriting things
20:15.45 brlcad .. and doing something fun and promising enough to attract other/new developers
20:16.15 louipc is there a way to see a log of the commands issued via the gui?
20:18.12 brlcad there is command history via the cursor keys as well as the 'history' and 'journal' commands
20:18.27 brlcad on the mged quick ref sheet under the "Getting Help" section
20:30.36 louipc hmm doesn't write to file until you toggle off
20:40.26 CIA-4 BRL-CAD: 03brlcad * r30322 10/brlcad/trunk/sh/header.sh: leave authorship to the revision control system and AUTHORS file
20:52.50 yukonbob heh -- /me recalls "poisonous" ---^
20:55.58 brlcad ;)
20:56.50 brlcad something I've been meaning to do for a long time really, before the video, but it did give a reminder
20:57.46 brlcad i'm not entirely convinced of the particular reasoning IFF the authorship is complete and well-defined for what gives someone the right to add their name
20:58.10 brlcad problem is that it's rarely ever complete, and particularly for brl-cad it's out of sync with the contributors
20:58.22 brlcad the author listed is generally just the person that started the file
21:01.20 yukonbob but I do appreciated the "barrier to entry" argument supplied in the PPeople vid -- it may be intimidating, and then (like you say) unless the prerequisites are well defined, when does another person add his/her name, etc, etc. -- keeping names out of files _does_ simplify things immediately.
21:26.46 CIA-4 BRL-CAD: 03louipc * r30323 10/brlcad/trunk/misc/archlinux/PKGBUILD.in: dependency and configure tweaks
22:09.57 *** join/#brlcad louipc (n=louipc@bas8-toronto63-1177614334.dsl.bell.ca)
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