Kaust rhino workshop 2011

SCRIPTING IN RHINO
KAUST ‐ April, 2011
Geometric Modeling and Scientific Visualization CenterGeometric Modeling and Scientific Visualization Center
Khaled Mohamed Ahmed Abd El Gawad
www.khaledarch.comwww.khaledarch.com
Khaled Abd El Gawad – All rights reserved – www.khaledarch.com

Outline
 Introduction
 VBScript Essentials
 Operators and functionsp
 Conditional Execution/Branching
 Arrays
 Surface and Polysurface MethodsSurface and Polysurface Methods
 Show Cases
 Grasshopper Overview
 Useful Resources
Useful Resources

Introduction

What We Can Do Using RhinoScript?
Computational Design Solution ‐ IAP Course
http://www.kaschaandjohn.com/rhinoscripting/

Computational Design Solution ‐ IAP Course http://www.kaschaandjohn.com/rhinoscripting/

http://www.rhinoscript.org/gallery/2

Scripting vs. Programming Languages.
 These days, the line between a scripting language and
i l i bl da programming language is blurred.
 Scripting Languages:
 Run Inside other programsRun Inside other programs
 Are not compiled.
 A t d t it Are easy to use and easy to write.
 Scripting languages are used to build complex
software.
 Scripting languages are so efficient
p g g g

Macros
 Rhinoceros is based on
a command linea command‐line
interface.
 A macro is a prerecorded list of orders for Rhino to
executeexecute.

Macros
 Example:
A
(0, 0, 0)
B
(10, 0, 0)
Open100 Add line Save Files
Rhino Files
 Macros allow you to automate tasks you would
normally do by hand but not by brain.

Scripts
 Scripts are text files which are interpreted one line at
ia time.
 Scripts have control over which line is executed next.
 We must familiarize ourselves with the language rules
f VBS ript b f fl t lof VBScript before we can use flow control.

How to Run a Script?
 We could store scripts as external text files and have
Rhino load them whenever we want to run themRhino load them whenever we want to run them
 We could also use Rhino's in‐build script editor.
 _EditScript  Command line_ p
 Tools  Rhinoscript  Edit

The Script Window will
show upshow up
Then we can write
i t i t thour script into the
Script Editor window
th li k tthen click execute

 Or we can embed scripts in toolbar buttons, which
makes it very hard to edit them but much easier tomakes it very hard to edit them, but much easier to
distribute them.

VBScript Essentials

Language origin
 VBScript is a member of the BASIC language family.
 The language was designed to be easy for humans to
understand.
 BASIC stands for Beginner’s All‐purpose Symbolic
Instruction Code.Instruction Code.
 Rhino Scripting syntax rules are basically the same as Rhino Scripting syntax rules are basically the same as
Visual BASIC.
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Flow Control
 We use it to skip certain lines of code or
 To execute others more than once.
 To jump to different lines in our script and back again.To jump to different lines in our script and back again.
 You can add conditional statements to your code You can add conditional statements to your code
which allow you to shield off certain portion
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Variable Data
 From a programmer's point of view, a variable is a
location in your computer's memory in which you canlocation in your computer s memory in which you can
store a value and from which you can later retrieve
that valuethat value.
A visual representation of memory
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A visual representation of memory

Variable Data
 Whenever we need to store data or perform
calculations or logic operations we need variables tocalculations or logic operations we need variables to
remember the results.
33 33..44 datadata
X Y Variable name
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X Y Variable name

Variable Data
 There are different data types: Integers, doubles,
Booleans strings and Null variableBooleans, strings, and Null variable.
D bl
Integer
Double
Boolean
Null
St i datadataString datadata
Variable name
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Variable Data: Integers and Doubles
 Doubles are numeric variables which can store
numbers with decimalsnumbers with decimals.
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Variable Data: Booleans
 Boolean variables can only store two values mostly
referred to as Yes or No True or Falsereferred to as Yes or No, True or False.
 In VBScript we never write "0" or "1" or "Yes" or "No”
 We always use "True" or "False".
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Variable Data: Strings
 Strings are used to store text.
 Whenever you add quotes around stuff in VBScript, it
automatically becomes a String.
 So if we encapsulate a number in quotes, it will
become textbecome text
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 String Assignment and Concatenation
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 When using & you can treat numeric variables as
StringsStrings
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Variable Data: Null Variable
 When a variable has no value, it considered to be null.
 Having a null value is different than having a value of
0, since 0 is an actual value.
 Whenever we ask Rhino
a question which might
not have an answer, we
need a way for Rhino to
say "I don't know"
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Using Variables
 Variable Declaration:
 W ll d l i bl i h Di We normally declare a variable using the Dim
keyword.
 We can declare multiple variables using a singleWe can declare multiple variables using a single
Dim keyword if we comma‐separate them.
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Using Variables
 Variable Names:
 I i d d fi It is recommended to use prefixes.
 Use a 3 character prefix which indicates the type of
variable
V i bl t P fi E lVariable type Prefix Example
Boolean bln blnSuccess
Integer int intX
Double dbl dblYDouble dbl dblY
String str strfood
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Using Variables
 Variable Assignment:
 B f f i bl Before you can use any of your variables, you must
first assign them a value.
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Operators and Functions

Operators and Functions
 Th i fi t i th f ll i The previous figure contains the followings:
 Numbers (15, 26, 2.33 and 55)
 Variables (x, y, and z)
 Operators ( =, +, * and /)p ( , , /)
 Functions (Sin, Sqr, Tan and Log)
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Operators in RhinoScript
 Arithmetic Operators
 C i O Concatenation Operators
 Comparison Operators
 Logical and bitwise Operators
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 Operator Precedence
 The acronym PEMDAS or "Please Excuse My Dear
Aunt Sally" is common.
 It stands for Parentheses, Exponents,
Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction.Multiplication, ivision, Addition, Subtraction.
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 B d i i f h ld d h Based on previous info how could we code the
following?
PEMDAS
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 B d i i f h ld d h Based on previous info how could we code the
following?
PEMDAS
Solution:
y = Sqr(x ^ 2 + (x ‐ 1)) / (x ‐ 3) ) + Abs( (2 * x) / (x ^ (0.5 * x))
Solution:
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 T i lif h i d i To simplify the equation we can spread it out over
multiple lines of code
y = Sqr(x ^ 2 + (x ‐ 1)) / (x ‐ 3) ) + Abs( (2 * x) / (x ^ (0.5 * x))
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Operators in RhinoScript: Logical Operators
 Logical operators mostly work on Booleans.
 Boolean mathematics were developed by George
Boole (1815‐1864) and today they are at the very core
of the entire digital industry.
 Boolean algebra provides us with tools to analyze,
compare and describe sets of data.
M f h B l O N A d Most famous three Boolean Operators are: Not, And,
and Or.
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 A good way to exercise your own Boolean logic is to
use Venn‐diagrams.
 A Venn diagram is a graphical representation of
Boolean sets where every region contains a (sub) setBoolean sets, where every region contains a (sub) set
of values that share a common property.
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 Venn diagrams are useful for simple problems, but
once you start dealing with more than three regions itonce you start dealing with more than three regions it
becomes a bit opaque.
 6 i l V di P tt b t t ti l 6‐regional Venn diagram. Pretty, but not very practical
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Functions in RhinoScript
 Microsoft VBScript has 89 built in functions:
 Sin(n) Sine of a number
 Cos(n) Cosine of a numberCos(n) Cosine of a number
 Atn(n) ArcTangent of a number
 Log(n) Natural logarithm of a number larger than 0
 Sqr(n) Square root of any positive numberSqr(n) Square root of any positive number
 Abs(n) Absoluter (positive) value of any number
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Functions in RhinoScript
 Rhino adds over 200 functions called methods:
 Rhino.command (“_Move 0, 0, 0 2, 0, 1”)
 Rhino.UnselectAllobjects()Rhino.UnselectAllobjects()
 Rhino.Selectobject (strCurveID)
 Rhino.Copyobject (strCurveID)
 Rhino.GetObject (“Select an object”)Rhino.GetObject ( Select an object )
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What is a Function?
 A function is a closed body of code that executes a
specific taskspecific task.
 A function is like a black box.
 It takes in input,
 does something with it does something with it,
 and then spits out an answer.
 A function may not take any inputs at all or it may not
return anything at all.return anything at all.
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Function Example
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Why Would We Need Functions?
 we can write it as a single function and access the
same function again and again as many times as it issame function again and again as many times as it is
required.
 We can avoid writing redundant code of some
instructions again and again.
 Programs with using functions are compact & easy to
understand.understand.
 Testing and correcting errors is much easier.
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Why Would We Need Functions?
 We can understand the flow of program, and its code
easily since the readability is enhanced while using theeasily since the readability is enhanced while using the
functions.
 A single function written in a program can also be
used in other programs also.
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Script File Structure
 Every script must implement a certain structure which
tells the interpreter what's whattells the interpreter what s what.
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 Every script must implement a certain structure which
tells the interpreter what's whattells the interpreter what s what.
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 Option Explicit:
 It is optional, but it is highly
recommended.
 If you use it, you have to define all
your variables before you can useyour variables before you can use
them.
 If you don’t use it your variables If you don t use it, your variables
will be declared for you by the
compilercompiler.
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 Option Explicit:
 It may also contains a set of
comments.
 Comments are blocks of text in the
script which are ignored by thescript which are ignored by the
compiler and the interpreter.
 comments are used to add comments are used to add
explanations to a file, or to disable
certain lines of codecertain lines of code.
 Comments are always preceded by
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an apostrophe.

 Global Variables:
 They are optional.
 Typically you do not need globalTypically you do not need global
variables and you're usually better
off without them.off without them.
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 The Main Function
 Every script requires at least one
function contains the main code of
the script.
 it can place calls to any number ofit can place calls to any number of
other functions
 It delineates the extents of the It delineates the extents of the
script.
 The script starts running as soon as
this function is called and it stops
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when the function completes.

A Simple Function Example
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A Simple Function Example
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Conditional Execution/Branching

Conditional execution or Branching
 IF….Then Statement
 Select case
 LoopingLooping
 Conditional loops
 Incremental loops
 Nested LoopsNested Loops
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IF….Then Statement
 If we have three different situations:
1. If the object is a curve, delete it.
2. If the object is a short curve, delete it.2. If the object is a short curve, delete it.
3. If the object is a short curve, delete it, otherwise
it t th “ ” lmove it to the “curves” layer.
How would this be implemented using RhinoScript?
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 If we have three different situations:
2. If the object is a short curve, delete it.2. If the object is a short curve, delete it.
it t th “ ” lmove it to the “curves” layer.
How would this be implemented using RhinoScript?
This is so easy. We just need to learn how
conditional syntax works.
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y

2. If the object is a short curve, delete it.
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move it to the “curves” layermove it to the curves layer.
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Select … Case
 We use Select…Case when we want to check the
equalityequality.
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Select … Case (Sort objects based on type)
An Integer to store the An Integer to store the
Rhi ObjRhi Obj T dT dRhino ObjectRhino Object‐‐Type codeType code
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This means the object This means the object
does not exist; abortdoes not exist; abort
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A String to store a layer A String to store a layer
namename
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Compare the actual Compare the actual
d h hd h htype code with the type code with the
preset onespreset ones
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Points andPoints and PointCloudPointCloudPoints and Points and PointCloudPointCloud
objectsobjects
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CurvesCurves
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Surfaces and Surfaces and
PolySurfacesPolySurfacesPolySurfacesPolySurfaces
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MeshesMeshes
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LightsLights
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Annotations and Annotations and
TextDotsTextDots
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BlocksBlocks
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Any other objects; Any other objects;
AbortAbort
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If h lIf h lIf the layer we are If the layer we are
about to assign does about to assign does
not yet existnot yet existnot yet exist…not yet exist…
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Create itCreate it
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Assign the object to the Assign the object to the
layerlayer
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Looping
 Executing certain lines of code more than once is
called looping in programming slangcalled looping in programming slang.
 The two most important syntax for loops:
 Conditional Loops (Do loop Do While loop Conditional Loops (Do…loop, Do While…loop,
Do Until…loop)
 Incremental loops (For...Next)
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Conditional loops
 We use it when we do not know how many iterations
we will need in advancewe will need in advance.
 This type is called a Do…Loop.
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Conditional loops: Do…Loop
 This example script contains an endless Do…Loop
which can only be cancelled by the user pressingwhich can only be cancelled by the user pressing
(and holding) escape.
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 1 & 2: Option Explicit declaration and comments
about who's who and what's whatabout who s who and what s what
 4: Main Function call
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 5: Main function declaration
 6 W d l i bl hi h i bl f t i 6: We declare a variable which is capable of storing a
Rhino object ID
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 7: We create a new Rhino Text object
Rhi AddT t ( t T t P i t [ dblH i ht [ t F t [Rhino.AddText (strText, arrPoint [, dblHeight [, strFont [,
intStyle]]])
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 8: Just in case the text object hasn't been created we
need to abort the subroutine in order to prevent anneed to abort the subroutine in order to prevent an
error later on.
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 10: Starting the loop
 11 W d t h th t t d 11: We need to change the text once every second.
The Rhino.Sleep() method will pause Rhino for the
specified amo nt of milliseconds
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specified amount of milliseconds.

 12: Here we replace the text in the object with a new
String representing the current system time.String representing the current system time.
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Conditional loops: Do While…Loop
 This kind of loop syntax will abort the loop when
S C di i i lSomeCondition is False.
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Conditional loops: Do Until…Loop
 If we want the loop to terminate when a condition
b i d f l h U ilbecomes True instead of False, we can use the Until
keyword instead of the While keyword
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Conditional loops: Do…Loop While
 You can be guaranteed that DoSomething will be
ll d l b i h f ll icalled at least once by using the following syntax:
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Incremental loops
 We use it when the number of iterations is known in
dadvance.
 The variable i starts out by being equal to A and it is
incremented by N until it becomes larger than Bincremented by N until it becomes larger than B.
 Once i > B the loop will terminate.
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Incremental loops
 Example
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Nested Loops
 The following example shows how nested For…Next
b d di ib istructures can be used to compute distributions:
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Arrays

Arrays
 An array is a list of variables.
 Arrays start counting at zero.
 The first element of an array is the element withThe first element of an array is the element with
index 0.
 Arrays are just like other variables in VBScript with Arrays are just like other variables in VBScript with
the exception that we have to use parenthesis to set
and retrieve valuesand retrieve values.
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Arrays
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Arrays
 you can also use a shorthand notation in which case
h h h h blyou have to omit the parenthesis in the variable
declaration:
 The Array() function in VBScript takes any number of The Array() function in VBScript takes any number of
variables and turns them into an array.
 You can add as many arguments as you like
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Arrays
 In RhinoScript, coordinates are defined as arrays of
h b l d hthree numbers. Element 0 corresponds with x,
element 1 with y and element 2 with z.
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Plane
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Surface and Polysurface Methods

Basic 3D Geometry: Static Creation
 Add Sphere
 Add Box
 Add Cylinder Add Cylinder
 Add Cone
 Add Torus
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Basic 3D Geometry: Dynamic Creation
 Add Sphere
Exercise
 Add Box
 Add Cylinder
Please write a script
b
Exercise
 Add Cylinder
 Add Cone
to create a Box by
getting the length,
width and the height
 Add Torus
width and the height
from the user.
Please do the samePlease do the same
for Cylinder, cone
and Torus
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Show Cases

Example 1: Tree Example
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Example 2: Mesh Generation
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Grasshopper Overview

Useful Resources

Useful Resources
 http://wiki.mcneel.com/developer/rhinoscript
Everything about RhinoScript
 http://www.rhino3d.com/developer.htm#vbs
Useful Resources about rhino scripting and
Grasshopper
 htt // hi i t / t t http://www.rhinoscript.org/start
Important community for RhinoScripting and
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Grasshopper

I hope you have enjoyed it !
Khaled Abd El GawadKhaled Abd El Gawad
www.khaledarch.com

Kaust rhino workshop 2011

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