general · Google Season of Docs · Zulip Chat Archive

Thanks @louipc Are you looking to work on the docs? I'm aware of Pandoc for conversion, but had forgotten about Publican. Looks like something we maybe should have investigated 10 years ago (hah!). Looks like several of the folks that were using Publican have since shifted to Sphinx, Antora, etc ... except Debian, looks like they still use it.

Inder Singh (Jun 07 2019 at 20:48):

Hi, @Roshan Chittoor do you have any previous samples of your work that you would like to show?

Also, you can visit https://brlcad.org/wiki/Tutorial/Newbie to familiarize yourself with the software. :) Welcome to the community and I hope to see us working together. :)

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 21 2019 at 06:29):

Inder Singh (Aug 21 2019 at 06:33):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 21 2019 at 06:35):

Inder Singh (Aug 21 2019 at 06:36):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 21 2019 at 06:37):

No, I was just wondering where do I put in my daily dev log. Can I share it on my blog and send in a link here?

Inder Singh (Aug 21 2019 at 06:39):

Yes, let's do that for now until we fix this.
Also wouldn't it be "doc log" ;) as compared to "dev log" :D

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 21 2019 at 06:47):

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 17:25):

@Sahibpreet Kaur huh, there must be something wrong on the website -- I'll take a look here in a bit to see if it can be fixed. You're certainly welcome to use your blog. You don't have to use our wiki at all for daily logging, only if you want to.

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 17:26):

@Sahibpreet Kaur it's be great to talk at some point with you about your project and the goals, too. how have you been doing getting through the checklist? any questions?

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 21 2019 at 17:54):

@Sean Yeah, I'm up for talking about the project too.
About the checklist:
- I introduced myself here.
- I read the acceptance requirements/ participation requirements. I noticed that some of the points were more inclined to GSoC.
- About setting up interaction schedule with mentors. I haven't done that. I have been lagging in communication for a while now but I aim to interact more.
- About filling out my profile. The link redirected me to http://brlcad.org/wiki/Google_Summer_of_Code/2019 I didnt understand where to fill the profile.
- Get familiarized with web resources I have been going through the wiki docs and I noticed that some of the links show 404 error. I'll mention about them in the daily log.
- Post your proposal online I didn't do that. I will do it on my blog now and then start with the daily logging.
- Download source code I installed the complied brlcad.
- Submit patches to get familiarized with code I didn't do this. What am I supposed to do in this part?
- Create a Sourceforge and brlcad.org wiki account I tried making wiki account.

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 18:14):

You're quite right @Sahibpreet Kaur that a lot of our docs are very GSoC-centric at the moment. GSoD is a first of its kind and you're the first to participate :)

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 18:15):

Don't worry about profile yet until you get a wiki account created. You won't add yourself to the GSoC page -- we need to create a page specifically for GSoD and then a GSoD/2019 page can link to you and your project efforts.

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 18:17):

I suggest you take a few hours and do at least half of the existing MGED tutorials. They've been completed by students of all ages, so you should be able to get through them all in just a couple hours especially if BRL-CAD is already installed.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 21 2019 at 18:19):

@Sean Yeah I'll start doing the tutorials. Thanks for the next step. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 18:19):

For the "submit patches" part, the suggestion is for you to make some change (any change really) and then figure out how to communicate that change back to us in an effective way. Developers typically communicate changes as a "Patch" or a "Pull request". With documentation, it's a bit more complicated but is still something we need to sort out.

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 18:21):

You sending a new document works on the first version, but then say I ask you to change a bunch of things and now you have a new version -- how to communicate that version is the question. You sending me the new file to review again in its entirety is usually very ineffective (I don't know what you've actually changed, if you changed anything else, if parts are removed, etc).

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 18:21):

So we'll have to figure that out. If we can get to you working with "pull requests", that will be awesome. ;)

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 18:22):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 21 2019 at 18:23):

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 18:23):

Especially on the first couple lessons, keep notes on what you liked, did not like, what was confusing, what was helpful, what could have been better, what mistakes or problems you ran into, etc. That will likely help you a lot with what you're going to be creating.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 21 2019 at 18:24):

Yeah, I have been keeping notes since the start. Like, while installing BRL-CAD on my ubuntu. I got confused somewhere :sweat_smile: I've noted it down if it can be of any help further.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 21 2019 at 18:28):

Daniel Rossberg (Aug 21 2019 at 19:37):

In addition to what Sean said, part of our documentation is contained in our source code repository, in the doc subdirectory. There you can find the sources for the manual pages and some HTML docs, for example. If you change or add there something, you can post your modification here: https://sourceforge.net/p/brlcad/patches/

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 22 2019 at 13:51):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 26 2019 at 19:19):

Sean (Aug 26 2019 at 19:21):

@Sahibpreet Kaur That looks great. Sorry I couldn't be more clear on exactly how to get started in the docs, but continuing with the tutorials is definitely good.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 26 2019 at 19:23):

@Sean Actually I was reading the docs in the mged folder of BRL-CAD source code directory.

Sean (Aug 26 2019 at 19:24):

After you get done with the tutorials, I suggest reading the OLD manual that is accessed from within MGED. On the Help menu, select Manual." The "Modeling with CSG" section contains a terribly old tutorial that used to be what users learned first before the MGED tutorials you're reading now existed.

Sean (Aug 26 2019 at 19:24):

Sean (Aug 26 2019 at 19:25):

Honestly all of the files in doc/ are useful to someone but only the ones in doc/docbook have had any significant organization.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 26 2019 at 19:27):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 26 2019 at 19:30):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 03 2019 at 04:21):

Panda (Gauravjeet Singh) (Sep 03 2019 at 11:20):

Panda (Gauravjeet Singh) (Sep 03 2019 at 11:23):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 03 2019 at 11:25):

Sean (Sep 05 2019 at 15:00):

Sean (Sep 05 2019 at 15:01):

If you can't send me your IP address and I can see if maybe you're getting blocked on our end.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 05 2019 at 15:05):

Sean (Sep 05 2019 at 15:07):

The screenshot you show says it was a connection reset, which is a routing issue.
It was likely some networking outage somewhere. The server hasn't been down, as far as I know.

Sean (Sep 05 2019 at 15:08):

@Sahibpreet Kaur So how are things going? Do you need anything from me? I know we've now entered into the "work" phase, so hopefully you're all done getting through tutorials and researching existing docs this week. Would love to see an updated plan written down now that you now more about what is needed, and to hear your thoughts on where to take the project.

Sean (Sep 05 2019 at 15:10):

@Panda (Gauravjeet Singh) not at all known. I suspect it was a network routing outage. it could have been one of the system administrators upgrading some part of the web server, too, but it seems to be all up and working now.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 06 2019 at 16:05):

@Sean Things are going great. I have been through the OLD manual and most of the Intro to MGED tutorials. I am working on the updated plan and will notify you in a day or two. I wasn't quite well the past few days which caused lag in my work.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 10 2019 at 07:42):

Although /usr/brlcad/bin/mged works under Ubuntu as well, the alternative is to use a special BRL terminal which can be started with brlterm. In this terminal the command mged will run the program.

The command brlterm doesn't work on the terminal.

Daniel Rossberg (Sep 10 2019 at 18:31):

I don't know how this found its way into the FAQ. brlterm was a wrapper script in a .deb package for version 7.8.4 that sets (beside others) the PATH environment variable. As far as I know, this script was never part of the official BRL-CAD repository. This seems to be the only commit which mentions it: https://sourceforge.net/p/brlcad/mailman/message/22423142/

Sean (Sep 10 2019 at 18:32):

Sean (Sep 10 2019 at 18:35):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 10 2019 at 18:52):

Sean (Sep 10 2019 at 18:55):

@Sahibpreet Kaur thank you for the mindmap reminder! now that you've gone through a number of tutorials and presumably are starting to get a little familiarized with what you've used, does that change any of the original goals?

Sean (Sep 10 2019 at 19:00):

We should probably revisit the overarching goals to make sure what you end up producing stands alone as our go-to introduction, but specifically figuring out the target audience, scope, purpose, etc.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 10 2019 at 19:09):

Yeah I have already read half of this pdf and looked at the rest of it. Are we aiming at a documentation like this pdf?
P.S. When I went through the MGED tutorials I saw that we have used some of the tools like Set H, Scale, Primitive Editor etc. We can have a separate page for their brief explanation and link them in the tutorials.

Sean (Sep 10 2019 at 19:32):

No, not aiming for the same documentation as the pdf. If anything, something even more concise -- a very quick introduction to BRL-CAD (not just an introduction to MGED or the GUI). So the first question is who is the audience going to be?

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 10 2019 at 19:50):

I was thinking to aim at the audience who are even new to CAD but are interested in it.

Sean (Sep 10 2019 at 23:56):

I like that. Maybe this can be targeted at kids (e.g., elementary to high school aged kids) getting started with 3D modeling for the first time, that's a nice focus area that we don't really cater to well but would be great to grow.

Sean (Sep 11 2019 at 00:00):

The focus would be on very simple language, and simple usage. Something like modeling something simple, then maybe importing something they found on the web, rendering their scene to an image, and then exporting it for 3d printing.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 11 2019 at 05:20):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 11 2019 at 05:23):

Sean (Sep 17 2019 at 15:46):

@Sahibpreet Kaur how are things going? You're done with all the tutorials by now I trust. Did you finish the what is BRL-CAD part you were working on?

Sean (Sep 17 2019 at 15:46):

It would be good to turn your mind map into a document outline so we can discuss the flow and sections

Sean (Sep 17 2019 at 15:46):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 20 2019 at 16:57):

@Sean Yes, I am done with the tutorials. Yes, I worked on What is BRL-CAD part. I was searching for an explanation for CAD itself. I noted down some points. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ev-KBv1VamFdHBx42EaeukGtPxpry3pNO9wPksNzs20/edit
and should I work on the mindmap I provided before or create a new one for the audience we are aiming?

Sean (Sep 23 2019 at 14:36):

@Sahibpreet Kaur I would think it's time to move to an outline based on the audience and mindmap, no? Don't want to spend so much time planning content that you don't actually get to talking about the content itself. ;)

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 25 2019 at 03:56):

Yes, sure @Sean So, my next step should be to understand the audience and prepare an outline?

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 25 2019 at 03:58):

Are we going to focus on modeling something simple and meanwhile explain important keywords and definitions?

Sean (Sep 25 2019 at 04:17):

Sean (Sep 25 2019 at 04:19):

I do think the focus needs to be something very introductory but as interesting and relatable as possible, that can be completed without copy-pasting huge strings of meaningless numbers.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 25 2019 at 04:19):

Sean (Sep 25 2019 at 04:19):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 25 2019 at 04:20):

Sean (Sep 25 2019 at 04:20):

Would love to hear if you have ideas on what simple modeling exercise might be effective. Maybe some up with a few ideas so we can discuss the implications.

Sean (Sep 25 2019 at 04:20):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 25 2019 at 04:21):

Sean (Sep 25 2019 at 04:21):

we did get a couple great ideas during our last GCI, but I'd like to hear your ideas first ;)

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 25 2019 at 04:22):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 28 2019 at 15:14):

Sean (Sep 30 2019 at 05:02):

@Sahibpreet Kaur looks like a start of an outline, maybe you can fill out more of the structure, critical questions being answered, etc.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 30 2019 at 05:07):

Sean (Sep 30 2019 at 05:10):

For a modeling goal, I'm thinking something simple and printable like a tic-tac-toe, checkers, or chess set.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 30 2019 at 05:15):

Sean (Sep 30 2019 at 05:42):

checkers is probably the least relatable, but easiest instruction-wise. chess is more interesting, but it'll be tricky to make it as simple as possible. tic-tac-toe is pretty universal, but doesn't allow for customization very well.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 30 2019 at 05:57):

I like the idea of chess though. But I can look for other ideas too. If not, I will start with the outline.

Sean (Sep 30 2019 at 12:49):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Oct 01 2019 at 05:14):

Main aim of this document - Introduce students to the world of modeling (CAD)
What is modeling
Intro to BRL-CAD (a brief one)
Intro to MGED
- How to download and install
- Link to intro to MGED tutorials to learn to model simple shapes
Getting Familiar with MGED GUI
- some basic commands to get started with
- some shortcuts which will be handy in the tutorial
Modeling the Chess Set
- Show end result, what we are aiming to achieve
- Show what we will be modeling first and so on

Sahibpreet Kaur (Oct 01 2019 at 05:16):

Sean (Oct 01 2019 at 05:17):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Oct 01 2019 at 05:18):

I was writing the details to the section Modeling the Chess set but I guess that will be more clear once we start with the document.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Oct 05 2019 at 05:41):

Sean (Oct 05 2019 at 11:36):

We'll need to decide on a place where we can communicate and collaborate on the document. Since this is a new document, I suggest we start with something like a shared Google Doc and then we can convert to Docbook later.

Sean (Oct 05 2019 at 11:37):

@Sahibpreet Kaur try setting that up and can see where to go from there, start filling in a little bit for each section (incompletely)

Sahibpreet Kaur (Oct 05 2019 at 11:38):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Oct 16 2019 at 05:44):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Oct 22 2019 at 06:12):

Sean (Oct 23 2019 at 02:11):

Sean (Oct 23 2019 at 02:12):

But don't let delays and lack of discussion prevent you from working... The days are ticking by quickly, and now we're at the midpoint.

Sean (Oct 23 2019 at 02:13):

You will need to get rolling very soon on filling out the outline if you have not started on it already. Where have you gotten since last week's outline?

Sahibpreet Kaur (Oct 27 2019 at 07:01):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 01 2019 at 21:29):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 01 2019 at 21:30):

Whenever you are available, can you please have a look at the doc and maybe we can discuss about it?

Sean (Nov 04 2019 at 22:01):

Sean (Nov 04 2019 at 22:05):

You're on the right track, but there is so much content still missing...
I suggest trying to write "shallow" where you say as little as absolutely possible for each section, and let that guide what additional information is needed.

Sean (Nov 04 2019 at 22:08):

Your answer to "What is modeling" is a good example. The Intro to MGED section, however, is not... You spend 2.5 pages explaining how to install or a specific version of Linux, which is maybe going to be 1% of readers...

Sean (Nov 04 2019 at 22:10):

Instead of telling them how to install, I would suggest just pointing them to where they can get more information if they need it, but the step needed is to simply get BRL-CAD installed.

Sean (Nov 04 2019 at 22:11):

Similarly with the about BRL-CAD section, I would just give a couple sentence response in more simple but distinguishing terms (how is BRL-CAD different from non-CAD modeling or commercial CAD modeling, for example).

Sean (Nov 04 2019 at 22:12):

and either avoid complicated terms (e.g., CSG) or explain them in a definitions/resources list at the end of the document.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 05 2019 at 06:58):

@Sean I got it! I have looked at the comments on the docs. I will work on those and report accordingly.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 06 2019 at 07:51):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 06 2019 at 07:52):

@Sean Also, I was starting to model the chess set. I should start with the chess board, right?

Sean (Nov 06 2019 at 07:53):

It's because we're making the basin a separate from the stem (separate regions) and you cannot have two regions overlapping

Sean (Nov 06 2019 at 07:54):

that example would make more sense if they were plastic parts, you'd have two parts (one for the basin, one for the stem)

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 06 2019 at 07:55):

Sean (Nov 06 2019 at 07:55):

as a glass goblet, I do not approve of that region construction. it makes it confusing because as glass the whole cup should be just on region.

Sean (Nov 06 2019 at 07:56):

so no, not precaution. it's necessary if we're going to define them as two regions.

Sean (Nov 06 2019 at 07:57):

as one region, it would not be necessary and the region expression would be something more like r goblet.r u basin.s u stem1.s ...

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 06 2019 at 07:58):

So, say if we have to just combine them one below the other, we have to use union only, right?

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 06 2019 at 07:58):

Sean (Nov 06 2019 at 07:58):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 06 2019 at 07:59):

Sean (Nov 06 2019 at 07:59):

making a region basically is saying that the shape is now physical -- it now has mass and occupies space. objects cannot physically overlap.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 06 2019 at 07:59):

Sean (Nov 06 2019 at 08:00):

so for a little chess piece, this should not need to be something we need to explain just yet -- it'll be just one region per piece

Sean (Nov 06 2019 at 08:00):

at least, we don't need to say more than what I just did, that making it a region makes it be physical

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 06 2019 at 08:01):

for the chess board, we will have to make small squares as regions and then combine them to make one chess board?

Sean (Nov 06 2019 at 08:03):

yes, that's probably the best way -- but we'll probably just make on square and then use the clone command to make a grid of them

Sean (Nov 06 2019 at 08:03):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 06 2019 at 08:03):

Sean (Nov 06 2019 at 08:15):

or better, we should show them how to make the squares individually/manually twice, then show how to finish the row with clone, then clone the rows

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 06 2019 at 08:34):

Yes, and then join those two rows in opposite direction to one another and so on for other rows.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 06 2019 at 18:09):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 07 2019 at 04:40):

pasted image I was working on the chess board, I drew 8 squares. Now I reopened the command line and some squares are not in db.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 07 2019 at 04:41):

Weird thing, when I use separate command for each square, it works!
pasted image

Daniel Rossberg (Nov 07 2019 at 08:31):

Can you post the mged commands you used to create them? Without knowing them, it is hard to guess the reason.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 07 2019 at 09:46):

I copied this square to create other squares. I created using GUI, primitive selection.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 07 2019 at 09:46):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 07 2019 at 09:55):

So, what I have been trying is, I created a square using the Create option and then using scale to change the size and all. Then I copied the square using Primitive Editor and selection. Then I placed the squares accordingly to form a row. After that I was thinking of creating a region out of the row and then duplicate it to form 7 other rows.
The questions I have:

Daniel Rossberg (Nov 08 2019 at 19:25):

Technically, regions are combinations with "region flag" set (it's really a flag in the combination primitive). But, this flag has a big effect on how the ray-tracer treats the combination. When the ray hits a region, the boolean evaluation of the subordinate primitives will be calculated, and the resulting hit points assigned to the region (-name). This makes regions to the building blocks of the geometry.

On the other hand, groups are simple collections of BRL-CAD database objects. They are used to structure the geometry.

Daniel Rossberg (Nov 08 2019 at 21:18):

I would recommend to make the tiles as regions. In principle, a single solid and region are sufficient :thinking: board.g

Daniel Rossberg (Nov 08 2019 at 21:22):

But, it requires a trick to get this. For a tutorial, it's better to go with clones.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 09 2019 at 11:52):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 09 2019 at 14:58):

Sean (Nov 09 2019 at 14:59):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 09 2019 at 15:00):

Sean (Nov 09 2019 at 15:01):

You and everyone else, yes. It's not covered in that tutorial. It's an important command though. It does deep copying.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 09 2019 at 15:06):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 09 2019 at 18:43):

Sean (Nov 09 2019 at 22:00):

best way is to try it and find out ;) I think there are some examples in the manual page (run "man clone" in mged)

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 10 2019 at 05:15):

mged>man clone
Error: couldn't find manual page "clone"

But I learned about its syntax by typing in the wrong syntax :)
pasted image

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 10 2019 at 10:17):

Update:
Created a row
pasted image
pasted image
Now I am going to clone this row, but cloning it would make an exact copy of it. We want alternate colors for the next row.
Looking into it!

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 10 2019 at 10:37):

row.g
@Daniel Rossberg This is quite different from what you uploaded. Where am I going wrong? Any suggestions?

Daniel Rossberg (Nov 10 2019 at 11:42):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 10 2019 at 12:59):

pasted image
There is nothing about the clone command in the manual pages.
P.S. Can you please have a look at the row.g database I uploaded earlier?

Daniel Rossberg (Nov 10 2019 at 13:32):

Which version do you have? 7.26.0? This is a bit outdated. In know however that this is the latest MS Windows installation build.

Looked at it the last 1.5 hours ;)
However, I couldn't find some thing you made wrong. The black tiles are hard to see with the dark background. But, that's all, or not?

Daniel Rossberg (Nov 10 2019 at 13:38):

My version of the chess board utilized a feature which can hardly be used with mged or archer: The same object can be added multiple times to a combination (region or group), but with different transformations applied to it.
In addition, I colored the black.g and white.g groups (with comb_color), but not the tile.r region.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 10 2019 at 17:36):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 10 2019 at 17:42):

Now that I have created a row. Can I clone and translate the entire row? Primitive Selection only selects one particular tile not the combination. I looked into Combination editor but I couldn't find anything about changing the coordinates of the entire combination. Like translation the entire row by a specific value of x.

Sean (Nov 10 2019 at 20:22):

@Sahibpreet Kaur you can copy and translate an entire row, but I feel like we need to step back and just focus on making a pawn piece. time is very much running out now, so let's focus on the essential piece and the rest of the writing.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 11 2019 at 04:02):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 11 2019 at 04:04):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 11 2019 at 04:07):

Sean (Nov 11 2019 at 04:14):

If you can figure out modeling steps in time, then sure -- but it's clearly slowing things down and the main document is not in any complete shape yet. It's also something that can be added after the rest is all done, if there is time.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 11 2019 at 04:16):

Sean (Nov 11 2019 at 12:50):

That pawn is more complicated than necessary, but yes something like that. See the example in the dB dir.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 11 2019 at 13:10):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 11 2019 at 15:56):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 11 2019 at 16:01):

Sean (Nov 11 2019 at 16:11):

@Sahibpreet Kaur that's good enough to start with, but I think the tutorial will need to be very intentional as to how the pawn is approached, and incrementally build it up. Starting with, for example, an icon, and then working towards it. Maybe even just starting with a sphere and a tgc, then subtracting a torus, then adding the base and rim.

Sean (Nov 11 2019 at 16:18):

Sean (Nov 11 2019 at 16:20):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 11 2019 at 16:21):

tgc is for the body? What must the final pawn look like. The pawn I uploaded, does it require more refining?

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 11 2019 at 16:21):

Sean (Nov 11 2019 at 16:25):

Sean (Nov 11 2019 at 16:30):

This remains to be decided, but my point was that it shouldn't be from imagination. BRL-CAD is not typically used for creating designs where something does not already exist. It'll be a lot easier to show a picture and say "this is what we're going to make".
For example, this: pasted image

Sean (Nov 11 2019 at 16:32):

It can be measured (proportionally), it can be made with just 5 primitives, it's simple to explain without redundancy.

Sean (Nov 11 2019 at 16:33):

Sean (Nov 11 2019 at 16:36):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 11 2019 at 16:53):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 12 2019 at 07:25):

pasted image How do we make the inner curve for the bottom area? I tried trc but it doesn't give the curvy look.

Daniel Rossberg (Nov 12 2019 at 08:38):

in tile.s1 rpp 0 1 0 1 -0.1 0
r tile.r1 u tile.s1
clone -t 2 0 0 -i 1 -n 3 tile.r1
g row.g1 tile.r1 tile.r2 tile.r3 tile.r4
clone -t 1 1 0 -i 1 row.g1
clone -t 0 2 0 -i 1 -n 3 row.g1
clone -t 0 2 0 -i 1 -n 3 row.g2
g black.g row.g1 row.g2 row.g3 row.g4 row.g5 row.g6 row.g7 row.g8
clone -r 0 0 90 -p 4 4 0 black.g
mv black.g2 white.g
comb_color black.g 0 0 0
comb_color white.g 255 255 255
g board.g black.g white.g

Daniel Rossberg (Nov 12 2019 at 08:40):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 12 2019 at 10:28):

Sean (Nov 12 2019 at 15:13):

That's fantastic. Hm, feels like it should be doable in fewer steps... maybe a GCI challenge. :)

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 13 2019 at 04:55):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 13 2019 at 05:09):

Sean (Nov 13 2019 at 07:36):

@Sahibpreet Kaur That looks really good. Did you actually take measurements or just guess? We'll want to identify measurements for the tutorial for at least the most important parts like height, radius of base, height of the two rcc's, etc.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 13 2019 at 18:34):

in sph1.s sph 0 0 0 5
in rcc1.s rcc 0 0 -5 0 0 1 7
in trc1.s trc 0 0 -17 0 0 12 11 2.85
in tor1.s tor 0 0 -7 0 0 1 12.5 10.0
in rcc2.5 rcc 0 0 -19 0 0 2 11
r head.r u sph1.s - rcc1.s
r neck.r u rcc1.s
r body.r u trc1.s - tor1.s
r base.r u rcc2.s
comb pawn.c u head.r u neck.r u body.r u base.r

Sean (Nov 13 2019 at 19:22):

Sean (Nov 13 2019 at 19:24):

first structurally, there should only be one region because it's just one piece of material, so either the r's turn into c's and "comb pawn.c" turns into "r pawn.r" or you collapse all the r commands into one "r pawn.r" and change "comb pawn.c ..." into "g pawn.c pawn.r"

Sean (Nov 13 2019 at 19:29):

second, dimensionally it doesn't look right. a typical chess board has 2" squares (50mm) and it looks like you made the pawn 11mm in diameter or radius? It might be fine if that 11mm is radius.

Sean (Nov 13 2019 at 19:32):

third, is that you've modeled into negative Z, which is not expected or typical. I would expect the base of the pawn to be at 0,0,0, not 0,0,-19. perhaps a teaching moment in the tutorial, so we can either add one more step to edit/move the pawn up 0,0,19 so we can explain why or change the steps to model it up from 0,0,0 (starting with the base)

Sean (Nov 13 2019 at 19:34):

from a naming perspective, it would reduce your steps if you gave the primitives names like "head.sph" and "neck.rcc" so your final region is "r pawn.r u head.sph u neck.rcc u ..."

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 14 2019 at 03:45):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 14 2019 at 04:05):

in base.rcc rcc 0 0 0 0 0 2 11
in body.trc trc 0 0 2 0 0 12 11 2.85
in curve.tor tor 0 0 12 0 0 1 12.5 10
in neck.rcc rcc 0 0 13 0 0 1 7
in head.sph sph 0 0 18 5
r pawn.r u head.sph u neck.rcc u body.tor - curve.tor u base.rcc
g pawn.c pawn.r

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 14 2019 at 04:05):

Sean (Nov 14 2019 at 07:07):

That looks better, though I'd adjust the values if possible so there's only whole numbers, multiples of two or five, for simplicity unless it just can't be made to match the icon=.

Sean (Nov 14 2019 at 07:09):

at a glance, your ratios do appear to be off compared with the icon. that's where measuring the icon could be an important part of the exercise/tutorial, or at least identifying them from the icon so the modeling plan is clear.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 14 2019 at 17:29):

in base.rcc rcc 0 0 0 0 0 2 10
in body.trc trc 0 0 2 0 0 10 10 2
in curve.tor tor 0 0 12 0 0 1 12 10
in neck.rcc rcc 0 0 12 0 0 1 5
in head.sph sph 0 0 16 4
r pawn.r u head.sph u neck.rcc u body.tor - curve.tor u base.rcc
g pawn.c pawn.r

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 14 2019 at 17:31):

Sean (Nov 14 2019 at 17:58):

The numbers look better, but it still doesn't look like the dimensions match the icon target as well as they could (even with whole numbers).

Sean (Nov 14 2019 at 18:00):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 14 2019 at 18:28):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 15 2019 at 19:20):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 19 2019 at 01:23):

in base.rcc rcc 0 0 0 0 0 0.6 2.25
in body.trc trc 0 0 0.6 0 0 1.7 2.25 0.5
in curve.tor tor 0 0 2.8 0 0 1 2.84 2.37
in neck.rcc rcc 0 0 2.3 0 0 0.5 1.4
in head.sph 0 0 3.6 1.1

For the curve part, we'll have to use primitive selection and change the radii manually.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 19 2019 at 01:24):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 19 2019 at 01:27):

This is the head of the rook I was making pasted image
pasted image
I used a cylinder for it, then subtracted a cylinder with radius smaller than the first one. Then I subtracted two rpp perpendicular to one another in multiply symbol fashion.

Sean (Nov 21 2019 at 07:28):

@Sahibpreet Kaur at this point, the specific modeling steps aren't as important as having a complete document. you can stub in [insert modeling steps here] and focus on making sure the writing and tutorial flows appropriately, is concise, does not have errors or redundancy, etc

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 21 2019 at 07:58):

@Sean I agree with what you are saying but can you point out an example where I am stretching it more than needed. It would be very helpful for me to move forward accordingly.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 24 2019 at 16:09):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 25 2019 at 03:50):

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 03:51):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 25 2019 at 03:53):

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 03:58):

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 03:59):

I was not expecting you to get to the full set. Pretty amazing you got through it all!

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 04:00):

So from here, how much time exactly do you have remaining to work on this 1) before the deadline and 2) after the deadline? :)

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 04:02):

There is only minimal content change, which I think can all be done before the deadline. A little reordering, restructuring, and a bit more introductory explanation on the basic commands and the approach you're using.

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 04:04):

The part that I don't think we will have time to finish beforehand is getting a professional layout, typesetting, design and such.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 25 2019 at 04:14):

@Sean I will try to get most of it done before the deadline and work on improving it after the deadline.
I only focused on explaining clone command because it wasn't explained in the INTRO to MGED doc. So, I guess before using any command first time in this doc or using any shape for the first time I should go with the expanded version for more clarity. Is it so?

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 25 2019 at 04:16):

Is there any major change required in the introductory section of this doc which explains the main aim of the doc, introduction to BRL-CAD and MGED?

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 04:19):

do you want feedback in the doc or here? Which will be easier for you to keep track of?

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 25 2019 at 04:21):

Here would be better! But if there are some precise changes, you can comment on the doc.

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 04:25):

okay, so first up, you have some things out of order, not introduced in the right place.
f

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 04:26):

for example, you talk about mged, but don't explain what mged is except for down in the installation instructions for linux (where it probably doesn't belong at all)

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 04:30):

I do like how you tightened up the introduction, but there is essential information missing in sections 1-3 and a few distracting bits of info included by generalizing just a bit too much. For example, in #1, the main aim isn't to introduce them to the world of modeling ... this is specifically an introduction to BRL-CAD. The document definitely does not even provide an intro to the general concept of modeling.

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 04:33):

In #1, the goal of this document should be summarized -- something along the lines of what you originally wrote in the proposal, that we're going to get a really quick introduction to BRL-CAD by learning how to install, find your way around, and model something interesting.

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 04:36):

#2 needs to be rewritten I feel. You have the right idea about presenting it in really simple words, but then the words that follow aren't very accurate, has an unhelpful parenthetical, curiously characterizes in terms of size (incorrectly) and then gives non-universal examples.

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 04:50):

For #3, you will still want to explain the words in that definition in as few words as possible. (I know, I said too much before, and that was true too -- it's a tricky balance). you probably want a slightly simpler definition like "BRL-CAD is a powerful 3D solid modeling system. CAD systems like BRL-CAD can require a lot of work to master, but this tutorial is going to help you get started. ... etc"

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 04:56):

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 04:59):

suggest adding a section between 5 and 6 where you explain opening an existing .g file, perhaps open one of the examples -- the instructions in #6 are out of place as they don't pertain to modeling the chess board, but could move to the new #6

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 05:02):

the next change is restructuring -- you currently dive right into modeling the chess board and clone command. those belong last in this entire document, after all the pieces. you should start with just the pawn first.

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 05:02):

explain the 'in' command, explain how would they even know what commands there are, show 'in' interactively the first time (it will prompt you if you just type 'in' instead of the whole line)

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 05:03):

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 05:04):

the section on the chess board and clone is a fantastic tutorial in itself, but not before the basics have been explained

Sean (Nov 25 2019 at 05:07):

that's a good start. I'll take a look where things are at tomorrow and can give another round of feedback but I think it's coming together well. You have the majority of content now. it's just the flow and ordering of concepts need review.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 25 2019 at 05:10):

I will start working on the points you shared now. I really appreciate the thorough feedback :)
I will update here when I am done with the changes,

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 28 2019 at 09:07):

Sean (Nov 28 2019 at 17:23):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 10:43):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 13:46):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 14:43):

@Daniel Rossberg Can you please let me know where do I upload my work for BRL-CAD?

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 14:59):

@Sean
Have you looked at the doc. And the submission time is around the corner; where do I submit my work? Also, can I share the project report here for your review?

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 17:19):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:20):

I haven't read the submission guidelines yet, but probably not the link. I'm thinking a PDF will be best.

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:21):

but yes, please share the project report if you like
you've done a really great job with this. it's turning out really nice.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 17:21):

The link should point to a document that contains a short description of the work done, the documentation that the open source project merged into its repository, a summary of the current state of the project, and a list of challenges and learnings.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 17:21):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:22):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 17:23):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:23):

Oh, that's easy submission. I suggest uploading your project report to the BRL-CAD wiki and making sure it "contains a short description of the work done, the documentation that the open source project merged into its repository, a summary of the current state of the project, and a list of challenges and learnings".

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 17:24):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:24):

I do want to get this merged into the repository. Are you up for a little challenge? :)

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 17:25):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:25):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 17:25):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:25):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:28):

ah, I see -- I thought the 6th was the submission deadline, but that's for evals

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:29):

no problem, so I suggest uploading your report to http://brlcad.org/wiki/Google_Season_of_Docs/2019 and submitting that link (you can include a link to your google doc there as well if you like, but it'll look better on the wiki.)

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:30):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:31):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 17:32):

In the report, the documentation part must contain the content of our final doc?

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 17:32):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:32):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:35):

I suggest for under current state of the project: The next steps are preparation of the document in the Docbook/XML format so PDF and HTML forms can be auto-generated and kept up to date with development changes.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 17:36):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:37):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 17:37):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:37):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:39):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:40):

I can do it pretty quickly. you already did the important part -- you wrote it. :)

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 17:42):

It gives an error It is recommended that files are no larger than 1048576; this file is 1697508.

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:42):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 17:44):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:44):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 17:45):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 17:46):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:48):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 17:52):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:56):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 17:58):

however, I wouldn't until the document is finalized, and there's a couple issues remaining like explaining where your dimensions came from, assembling all pieces onto the board, and creating a final render image of the whole set together.

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 18:03):

there's a couple ways we can proceed at this point. depending on your time, you can hopefully continue to work on those three things as time permits. however, how would you feel about putting your tutorial to test under the Google Code-In program that starts on Monday?

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 18:04):

you could ask the students to do the tutorial and provide feedback that you then respond to

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 18:04):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 18:06):

I have explained the dimensions part but yes, it needs more work on it.
As for assembling all pieces onto the board, the base of each piece should be such that it fits a single tile of our chessboard, right?

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 18:07):

for assembling, you'll create "instances" of the pieces and then move those instances into position using the oed and tra commands.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 18:08):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 18:08):

done correctly, you won't need to change any of your current instructions that creates the pieces. you're just adding the steps needed to create the actual final regions

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 18:10):

I can stub in the sections later, for now, we can just focus on getting feedback and responding to the feedback. Do you think you can write up a task description?

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 18:11):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 18:11):

Something like the description on this task, but obviously for doing the tutorial and reporting back

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 18:11):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 18:12):

[there's a couple ways we can proceed at this point. depending on your time, you can hopefully continue to work on those three things as time permits. however, how would you feel about putting your tutorial to test under the Google Code-In program that starts on Monday?]
Yes, putting the tutorial for test under Google Code-In is a great idea. I am up for it.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 18:12):

[Quoting…]
Yes, putting the tutorial for test under Google Code-In is a great idea.

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 18:13):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 18:14):

@Sahibpreet Kaur are you willing to be a mentor for these tasks? what's your availability over the next 10 weeks?

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 18:18):

I would love to mentor these tasks. Yes, I can give 10-14 hours per week for the next 10 weeks.

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 18:20):

i dont think it needs to be that much if you're mostly on documentation but great! Ill get you set up here in a bit.

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 18:20):

Sean (Nov 29 2019 at 18:20):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Nov 29 2019 at 18:28):

Also, Thanks a lot for helping me through it and guiding me throughout, especially at the last minute. I know this doc has a lot of room for improvement and I will keep working on it. :grinning: @Sean @Daniel Rossberg

Stream: Google Season of Docs

Topic: general

Daniel Rossberg (May 01 2019 at 13:13):

Sean (May 10 2019 at 15:13):

louipc (May 26 2019 at 14:14):

Sean (May 31 2019 at 13:37):

Inder Singh (Jun 07 2019 at 20:48):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 21 2019 at 06:29):

Inder Singh (Aug 21 2019 at 06:33):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 21 2019 at 06:35):

Inder Singh (Aug 21 2019 at 06:36):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 21 2019 at 06:37):

Inder Singh (Aug 21 2019 at 06:39):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 21 2019 at 06:47):

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 17:25):

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 17:26):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 21 2019 at 17:54):

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 18:14):

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 18:15):

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 18:17):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 21 2019 at 18:19):

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 18:19):

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 18:21):

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 18:21):

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 18:22):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 21 2019 at 18:23):

Sean (Aug 21 2019 at 18:23):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 21 2019 at 18:24):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 21 2019 at 18:28):

Daniel Rossberg (Aug 21 2019 at 19:37):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 22 2019 at 13:51):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 26 2019 at 19:19):

Sean (Aug 26 2019 at 19:21):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 26 2019 at 19:23):

Sean (Aug 26 2019 at 19:24):

Sean (Aug 26 2019 at 19:24):

Sean (Aug 26 2019 at 19:25):

Sean (Aug 26 2019 at 19:25):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 26 2019 at 19:27):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Aug 26 2019 at 19:30):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 03 2019 at 04:21):

Panda (Gauravjeet Singh) (Sep 03 2019 at 11:20):

Panda (Gauravjeet Singh) (Sep 03 2019 at 11:23):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 03 2019 at 11:25):

Sean (Sep 05 2019 at 15:00):

Sean (Sep 05 2019 at 15:01):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 05 2019 at 15:05):

Sean (Sep 05 2019 at 15:07):

Sean (Sep 05 2019 at 15:08):

Sean (Sep 05 2019 at 15:10):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 06 2019 at 16:05):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 10 2019 at 07:42):

Daniel Rossberg (Sep 10 2019 at 18:31):

Sean (Sep 10 2019 at 18:32):

Sean (Sep 10 2019 at 18:35):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 10 2019 at 18:52):

Sean (Sep 10 2019 at 18:55):

Sean (Sep 10 2019 at 19:00):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 10 2019 at 19:09):

Sean (Sep 10 2019 at 19:32):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 10 2019 at 19:50):

Sean (Sep 10 2019 at 23:56):

Sean (Sep 11 2019 at 00:00):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 11 2019 at 05:20):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 11 2019 at 05:23):

Sean (Sep 17 2019 at 15:46):

Sean (Sep 17 2019 at 15:46):

Sean (Sep 17 2019 at 15:46):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 20 2019 at 16:57):

Sean (Sep 23 2019 at 14:36):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 25 2019 at 03:56):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 25 2019 at 03:58):

Sean (Sep 25 2019 at 04:17):

Sean (Sep 25 2019 at 04:19):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 25 2019 at 04:19):

Sean (Sep 25 2019 at 04:19):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 25 2019 at 04:20):

Sean (Sep 25 2019 at 04:20):

Sean (Sep 25 2019 at 04:20):

Sahibpreet Kaur (Sep 25 2019 at 04:21):