Sketcher roadmap.

[Phenixdv]

I have a question regarding the direction of the project. With the changes in this version (0.0.43) the way to aproach sketches changed dramaticaly. I was using fluidcad as a programmatic cad tool, with a nice nvim integration, and web viewer.

I realy liked the cursor approach to sketiching. because it enabled very easy and fast creation of sketches, via code. It is a unike Idea that solved the programmatic approach to sketching. And it worked realy well. I was using Build123d before, but already like fluidcad a lot more.

With the new sketch solver, and everything going into a constraints direction. Will the project become less and less a programmatc cad tool and more a point and click system?

a simple four liner now takes 15 lines of code for the same lines.
with the old scetch:

sketch("xy", () => {
    hLine([0, -30], 30).centered()
    vLine(60)
    hLine(-30)
    vLine(-60)
})

versus with the new sketch solver:

  sketch('xy', () => {
    const b = line([0, -28.96], [30, -28.96]);
    const r = line([30, -28.96], [30, 31.04]);
    const t = line([30, 31.04], [0, 31.04]);
    const l = line([0, 31.04], [0, -28.96]);
    // corners: each line ends where the next one starts
    coincident(b.end(), r.start());
    coincident(r.end(), t.start());
    coincident(t.end(), l.start());
    coincident(l.end(), b.start());
    // square it up
    horizontal(b);
    vertical(r);
    horizontal(t);
    vertical(l);
    // the two dimensions (double-click a label in the viewport to change them)
    distance(b.start(), b.end(), 30);
    distance(r.start(), r.end(), 60);
    // centre the left edge on the origin: the pin axis runs through the
    // middle of the leaf, and the outline cannot slide
    midpoint(origin(), t.end(), b.start());
  });

This is nice for a ui workflow, but typing all this out in code is unpractical.

Wil the old way of sketching be completely abandoned, and going foreward every sketch wil be constraint driven?

[marwndev]

Hey @Phenixdv

At first I left the old pen sketcher as an alternative but thought this will create unecessary confusion. I may actually recover it under a new feature if the community ask for it, maybe something like:

pen('xy', ...)

Although I need to research if this will cause any issues.

[Phenixdv]

That would be realy nice.
Atleast I would realy like that. :)
Mabye with a select_scetch_parser("cursor/pointer"|"constraint-solver") or similar,
that is called at the start of a file?

[marwndev]

One more thing, the rect() tool is still supported as a macro shape (I'll add polygon and slot too).

Macro shapes can be written in code but the UI will treat them as whole shapes so when the new trimming rewrite lands, you'll not be able to trim one of its segments separately.

[Phenixdv]

I just used the example code from an example in the gides. ☺️
Macro shapes as in a function that is called in a sketch field, or something on its own?