#define private public - STEP files for the masses (29 Jul 2009)

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---+++ [[DefinePrivatePublic20090729StepConversion][STEP files for the masses]] (29 Jul 2009)

<summary>
Every now and then, a <nop>CoCreate Modeling user needs some functionality which isn't in the product
yet, or at least not precisely in the shape and form she needs it. For example, in a recent
<a href="http://cocreateusers.org/forum/showthread.php?p=22199">forum discussion</a>, someone
asked for a way to batch-convert <nop>CoCreate Modeling package files into STEP format.</summary>

The [[http://www.ptc.com/products/cocreate/task-agent][<nop>CoCreate Task Agent]] provides 
such functionality, but since it is an add-on module
at extra cost, only some customers have it available to them. But that's no reason for despair,
as it's pretty simple to add new functionality to the product.

Here's my take on the problem. My solution doesn't have any kind of glitzy UI,
it doesn't handle errors, it's not optimized for performance - but it shows how the 
approach works, and that's all I wanted to accomplish.

<pre>
<font color="#0000ff">;; (C) 2009 Claus Brod</font>
<font color="#0000ff">;;</font>
<font color="#0000ff">;; Demonstrates how to convert models into STEP format</font>
<font color="#0000ff">;; in batch mode. Assumes that STEP module has been activated.</font>

<font color="#6a5acd">(</font><font color="#804040"><b>in-package</b></font>&nbsp;:clausbrod.de<font color="#6a5acd">)</font>
<font color="#6a5acd">(</font><font color="#804040"><b>use-package</b></font>&nbsp;:oli<font color="#6a5acd">)</font>
<font color="#6a5acd">(</font><font color="#804040"><b>export</b></font>&nbsp;<font color="#6a5acd">'</font><font color="#008080">pkg-to-step</font><font color="#6a5acd">)</font>

<font color="#6a5acd">(</font><font color="#804040"><b>defun</b></font>&nbsp;convert-one-file<font color="#6a5acd">(</font>from&nbsp;to<font color="#6a5acd">)</font>
&nbsp;&nbsp;<font color="#6a5acd">(</font>delete_3d&nbsp;:all_at_top<font color="#6a5acd">)</font>
&nbsp;&nbsp;<font color="#6a5acd">(</font>load_package&nbsp;from<font color="#6a5acd">)</font>
&nbsp;&nbsp;<font color="#6a5acd">(</font>step_export&nbsp;:select&nbsp;:all_at_top&nbsp;:filename&nbsp;to&nbsp;<font color="#2e8b57"><b>:overwrite</b></font><font color="#6a5acd">)</font>
&nbsp;&nbsp;<font color="#6a5acd">(</font>undo<font color="#6a5acd">))</font>

<font color="#6a5acd">(</font><font color="#804040"><b>defun</b></font>&nbsp;pkg-to-step<font color="#6a5acd">(</font>dir<font color="#6a5acd">)</font>
&nbsp;&nbsp;<font color="#ff00ff">&quot;Exports all package files in a directory into STEP format&quot;</font>
&nbsp;&nbsp;<font color="#6a5acd">(</font><font color="#804040"><b>dolist</b></font>&nbsp;<font color="#6a5acd">(</font>file&nbsp;<font color="#6a5acd">(</font><font color="#804040"><b>directory</b></font>&nbsp;<font color="#6a5acd">(</font><font color="#804040"><b>format</b></font>&nbsp;<font color="#804040"><b>nil</b></font>&nbsp;<font color="#ff00ff">&quot;~A/*.pkg&quot;</font>&nbsp;dir<font color="#6a5acd">)))</font>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<font color="#6a5acd">(</font><font color="#804040"><b>let</b></font>&nbsp;<font color="#6a5acd">((</font>filename&nbsp;<font color="#6a5acd">(</font><font color="#804040"><b>namestring</b></font>&nbsp;file<font color="#6a5acd">)))</font>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<font color="#6a5acd">(</font>convert-one-file&nbsp;filename&nbsp;<font color="#6a5acd">(</font><font color="#804040"><b>format</b></font>&nbsp;<font color="#804040"><b>nil</b></font>&nbsp;<font color="#ff00ff">&quot;~A.stp&quot;</font>&nbsp;filename<font color="#6a5acd">)))))</font></font>
</pre>

To use this code:
   * Run <nop>CoCreate Modeling
   * Activate the STEP module
   * Load the Lisp file
   * In the user input line, enter something like =(clausbrod.de:pkg-to-step "c:/allmypackagefiles")=

For each package (=*.pkg=) file in the specified directory, a STEP file will be generated in the
same directory. The name of the STEP file is the original filename with =.stp= appended to it.

In =pkg-to-step=, the code iterates over the list of filenames returned from
=(directory)=. For each package file, =convert-one-file= is called, which performs
the actual conversion:

<table border="1">
<tr>
<th>Step</th>
<th>Command</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Delete all objects in memory (so that they don't interfere with the rest of the process)</td>
<td><tt>delete_3d</tt></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Load the package file</td>
<td><tt>load_package</tt></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Save the model in memory out to a STEP file</td>
<td><tt>step_export</tt></td>
</tr>
<td>Revert to the state of affairs as _before_ loading the package file</td>
<td><tt>undo</tt></td>
</tr>
</table>

For each of those steps, we use one of the built-in commands, i.e. =delete_3d=, =load_package=,
=step_export= and =undo=. (These are the kind of commands which are captured in a recorder
file when you run <nop>CoCreate Modeling's recorder utility.) Around those commands, we use
some trivial Common Lisp glue code - essentially, [[http://l1sp.org/cl/dolist][dolist]] over 
the results of [[http://l1sp.org/cl/directory][directory]]. And that's all, folks :D

Astute readers will wonder why I use =undo= after the load operation rather than =delete_3d=
the model. =undo= is in fact more efficient in this kind of scenario, which is
an interesting story in and of itself - and shall be told some other day.

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