hi, any way we can get the filename(s) being built stuffed into a special variable? like, say, $fileName? or $fileNameArray? i don't know if you can build more than one input file at a time; all my .scad files are "one file per thing being built". i do use <include> and <use>, but only one input file. so if only one input file can be built, then $fileName is more appropriate; if multiple input files can be built, then $fileNameArray is more appropriate. yes? non? eh? rationale: in each piece i build i stomp an "Engineering Change" (ec) level, along with the version. e.g., a build file for ec0 might be named: wondafulWidget_003.scad so i stomp "ec0_003" in the item being built; makes it easier to trace "what made this thing?" issues. now i have to manually change the write() that stomps the ec tag. while i'm not complaining about the workload (!), nonetheless, i've forgotten to change the string in the write() several times when i do a "Save As". ex: Save As "wondafulWidget_004.scad" has the item being built still stomped with "ec_003". <big sigh> a good waste of time, carbon, and ABS! with the $fileName special variable, i can substring to the version, glom the version into a variable, and stomp the variable. that ends any confusion as to "what made what". thanks for listening! yvette

I'm not sure about a special variable, but it would be great if there were any kind of version control. Like one that would count how many times you hit save, and another one that counted renders. So each time I hit save and render, it would make a new version number. e.g. if I have a file called widget, if I have saved it once, and rendered 6 times since that save, it would be automatically saved as e.g. widget.v1.06 when I hit render. It would also be nice if you could choose to compress the folder with all of these saves from OpenSCAD. Or am I really just describing a program that could manage all of this for me outside of OpenSCAD? On Tue, May 5, 2015 at 11:31 AM, Yvette S. Hirth, CCP, CDP < yvette@dbtgroup.com> wrote: > hi, > > any way we can get the filename(s) being built stuffed into a special > variable? > > like, say, $fileName? or $fileNameArray? > > i don't know if you can build more than one input file at a time; all my > .scad files are "one file per thing being built". i do use <include> and > <use>, but only one input file. so if only one input file can be built, > then $fileName is more appropriate; if multiple input files can be built, > then $fileNameArray is more appropriate. > > yes? non? eh? > > rationale: > > in each piece i build i stomp an "Engineering Change" (ec) level, along > with the version. > > e.g., a build file for ec0 might be named: wondafulWidget_003.scad > > so i stomp "ec0_003" in the item being built; makes it easier to trace > "what made this thing?" issues. > > now i have to manually change the write() that stomps the ec tag. while > i'm not complaining about the workload (!), nonetheless, i've forgotten to > change the string in the write() several times when i do a "Save As". ex: > Save As "wondafulWidget_004.scad" has the item being built still stomped > with "ec_003". <big sigh> a good waste of time, carbon, and ABS! > > with the $fileName special variable, i can substring to the version, glom > the version into a variable, and stomp the variable. that ends any > confusion as to "what made what". > > thanks for listening! > yvette > > _______________________________________________ > OpenSCAD mailing list > Discuss@lists.openscad.org > http://lists.openscad.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.openscad.org >

I use a real version control system for this (currently, git) But then, I'm a programmer, so version control makes sense. Every system I've used in the past with special names or strings built in to the text has failed because of the extra, independent manual process of updating it. So I use a tool built for that purpose. On Tue, 5 May 2015 13:08:05 -0400 Ari Diacou <ari.diacou@gmail.com> wrote: > I'm not sure about a special variable, but it would be great if there > were any kind of version control. Like one that would count how many > times you hit save, and another one that counted renders. > > So each time I hit save and render, it would make a new version > number. > > e.g. if I have a file called widget, if I have saved it once, and > rendered 6 times since that save, it would be automatically saved as > e.g. widget.v1.06 when I hit render. It would also be nice if you > could choose to compress the folder with all of these saves from > OpenSCAD. > > Or am I really just describing a program that could manage all of > this for me outside of OpenSCAD? > > On Tue, May 5, 2015 at 11:31 AM, Yvette S. Hirth, CCP, CDP < > yvette@dbtgroup.com> wrote: > > > hi, > > > > any way we can get the filename(s) being built stuffed into a > > special variable? > > > > like, say, $fileName? or $fileNameArray? > > > > i don't know if you can build more than one input file at a time; > > all my .scad files are "one file per thing being built". i do use > > <include> and <use>, but only one input file. so if only one input > > file can be built, then $fileName is more appropriate; if multiple > > input files can be built, then $fileNameArray is more appropriate. > > > > yes? non? eh? > > > > rationale: > > > > in each piece i build i stomp an "Engineering Change" (ec) level, > > along with the version. > > > > e.g., a build file for ec0 might be named: wondafulWidget_003.scad > > > > so i stomp "ec0_003" in the item being built; makes it easier to > > trace "what made this thing?" issues. > > > > now i have to manually change the write() that stomps the ec tag. > > while i'm not complaining about the workload (!), nonetheless, i've > > forgotten to change the string in the write() several times when i > > do a "Save As". ex: Save As "wondafulWidget_004.scad" has the item > > being built still stomped with "ec_003". <big sigh> a good waste > > of time, carbon, and ABS! > > > > with the $fileName special variable, i can substring to the > > version, glom the version into a variable, and stomp the variable. > > that ends any confusion as to "what made what". > > > > thanks for listening! > > yvette > > > > _______________________________________________ > > OpenSCAD mailing list > > Discuss@lists.openscad.org > > http://lists.openscad.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.openscad.org > > -- Doing nothing is very hard to do … you never know when you’re finished. -- Leslie Nielsen

On 05/05/2015 11:33 AM, G. Wade Johnson wrote: > I use a real version control system for this (currently, git) But then, > I'm a programmer, so version control makes sense. well gee gosh, i've been a programmer since 1967, i.e., for 48 years, and personally, i loathe version control systems. > Every system I've used in the past with special names or strings built > in to the text has failed because of the extra, independent manual > process of updating it. which is what i'm trying to avoid. > So I use a tool built for that purpose. you use the tool you want; i'll use the tool i want. also, for ec/code stamping of large, complicated products with lots to engineer, one could stomp the entire filename into a piece. can't do that with version control. yvette

         - Michele

On 05-05-2015 3:08 PM, Yvette S. Hirth, CCP, CDP wrote: > On 05/05/2015 11:33 AM, G. Wade Johnson wrote: > >> I use a real version control system for this (currently, git) But then, >> I'm a programmer, so version control makes sense. > > well gee gosh, i've been a programmer since 1967, i.e., for 48 years, > and personally, i loathe version control systems. Well you've got me beat by five years but I agree 100% with you. This is just a bad idea that Openscad doesn't need. - Michele

On Tue, 05 May 2015 12:08:29 -0700 "Yvette S. Hirth, CCP, CDP" <yvette@dbtgroup.com> wrote: > On 05/05/2015 11:33 AM, G. Wade Johnson wrote: > > > I use a real version control system for this (currently, git) But > > then, I'm a programmer, so version control makes sense. > > well gee gosh, i've been a programmer since 1967, i.e., for 48 years, > and personally, i loathe version control systems. Sorry to hear that they don't work for you. I made the comment mostly because not all OpenSCAD users are programmers and it has been an issue before. I meant it as an explanation for my usage, not to be condescending. > > Every system I've used in the past with special names or strings > > built in to the text has failed because of the extra, independent > > manual process of updating it. > > which is what i'm trying to avoid. > > > So I use a tool built for that purpose. > > you use the tool you want; i'll use the tool i want. > > also, for ec/code stamping of large, complicated products with lots > to engineer, one could stomp the entire filename into a piece. can't > do that with version control. I just hate working with systems where there are a whole bunch of copies of the same code with slightly different filenames. But, if it works for you, I'm happy it works. G. Wade > yvette > > > _______________________________________________ > OpenSCAD mailing list > Discuss@lists.openscad.org > http://lists.openscad.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.openscad.org -- A 'language' is a dialect with an army.

On 05/05/2015 12:33 PM, G. Wade Johnson wrote: > I just hate working with systems where there are a whole bunch of > copies of the same code with slightly different filenames. But, if it > works for you, I'm happy it works. thank you for that! yvette

My opinion(s), fwiw: * I love the idea of stamping a version label directly into the 3d model, even though this would only make sense for a few types of models. The filename-variable suggestion is nice, simple way to do it. * Yes, a real version control system is a powerful way to manage your files. If that works for you, use it! If not, don't! * The problem here is that this clever approach leaves the version control users out in the cold, if they can only stamp their models based on filename. * Maybe there is a way to also accommodate the leading version control systems, or at least git. Now that would be a productive discussion! Regards, Jerry E -- View this message in context: http://forum.openscad.org/new-Special-Variable-tp12579p12586.html Sent from the OpenSCAD mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

Issue 380 <https://github.com/openscad/openscad/issues/380> ----- Unless specifically shown otherwise above, my contribution is in the Public Domain; To the extent possible under law, I have waived all copyright and related or neighbouring rights to this work. This work is published globally via the internet. :) Inclusion of works of previous authors is not included in the above. The TPP is no simple “trade agreement.” Fight it! http://www.ourfairdeal.org/ -- View this message in context: http://forum.openscad.org/new-Special-Variable-tp12579p12587.html Sent from the OpenSCAD mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

On 6 May 2015 at 10:31, jellsworth <jerry.ellsworth@gmail.com> wrote: > * The problem here is that this clever approach leaves the version control > users out in the cold, if they can only stamp their models based on > filename. > You can pass variables in from outside by using the -D parameter to openscad. Yvette could thus use a workaround wrapper script when launching openscad that sets a variable to the current filename. In linux this would look something like: if [ "$1" ]; then openscad -D fileName=$(basename $1) $1 else openscad fi Similarly, if you have your files under version control you could substitute the output of git describe as your version tag. Cheers, Len.