uld draw, lets say opening locations which would then trigger certain code. Its fairly easy to convert formating, a cell with a certain color, to code, so in a way I would be using excel as a super basic cad program to manage lists of data. In order to do this I need to be able to call some Excel commands from Rhino and to add some functionality to LAN's rhino to excel script (http://www.livearchitecture.net/archives/1516) I would like to be able to get the Ubounds and dimension of an array or a list. . . ie somehow get the equivelenat number of rows and columns of an incoming list of data and then use this to generate some graphics in excel but . . . . It seems that the sytax for excel Vb script via interoperability
marshaling is a bit different:1)I can not use
the set command ie Set range 2) it does not allow me to use the typical excel
syntax such as:
Worksheets("Sheet1"). Range("A1:D4").BorderAround
ColorIndex:=3, Weight:=xlThick
I get the following errors
Error: Method arguments must be enclosed in parentheses. (line 114)
Error: Name 'xlThick' is not declared. (line 114)
Is their an alternate way to write the Excel commands? Or is there something I need to do in Rhino? Any advice would be appreciated.
Best,
Ben…
Added by Ben Fortunato at 11:10am on February 27, 2010
H are automated by using them as an ActiveX, the C# script object fails on the simplest tasks. That is, when initiating Rhino and GH externally (as by the following C# code):
Rhino5Application rhino_app = new Rhino5Application();
dynamic grasshopper = newRhino.rhino_app.GetPlugInObject("b45a29b1-4343-4035-989e-044e8580d9cf", "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000") as dynamic;
The following very simple C# script component fails because it cant cast its input:
The c# code at the component is only:
Line 89 is simply casting of the input. Clearly, this makes the usage of C# component, under automation, impossible which is a major loss.
As said, when initiating Rhino and GH manually , all works well as in the following:
Any ideas why it misbehaves under automation (as an Active X ) ?
I added the gh file of this example.…
akes the linear regression of the Schroeder integral over 30 dB worth of decay. Whether it is T-15 or T-30, they all seek to estimate the RT, which is always always the time it takes for sound to decay 60 decibels.
The website has benchmarks, for your reference. You can find them under the 'Pachyderm' drop down menu, under 'Benchmarks'.
Your model may well require millions of rays to be accurate. It sounds like a very large space. I'm sorry if that is an unpleasant answer. Sometimes it does help to have a computer with more cores to help with this. I have gotten up to 90% processor usage on a 12 core machine before.
Arthur…
hat differ in shapes, sizes and height the facade would be a mess. Some spaces need some light while other can't have any. I would like to have full freedom of creation inside the building, to make it as functional as possible. Thats why i decided the parametric "skin" solution would be best. Since the location has industrial past (factories made of brick) i decided that brick would give interesting result.
I tried creating the definition on my own but since i lack skill in GH i got some problems (especially multiplication of bricks and the diffrence between each "level" (half a brick on y axis) caused problems for me.
I post my simple sketch explaining the idea of definition i would like to create (sorry about quality):
1 - Brep - I would like to use 25x12x6cm (classic brick) but as well experiment with diffrent shapes - like the one on the right with hole inside - that would give more light. Thats why i think the best solution would be using brep for this definition.
2- Multiplication - biggest problem for me - I don't know how tall the wall would be, what will be the final shape of Brep (brick) and that's why i would like to manipulate this with sliders as well. All the walls are flat (maybe it would be easier to use surface?). As i managed to multiply the bricks easy way i don't know how to gain control over height of the wall - for example that it is 30 bricks high, but has each second row moved on x axis by the distance of 1/2 brick. I tried using Series but with no success. Could you help me with that please?
3 - Rotation - i would like to use image sampler for that so i can "paint" where i want more sun and where i dont need it at all (black and white). The rotation has to be limited to 180 degrees as well. Obviously i didn't get here yet, but i never used image sampler so if you could give me some advice how to use component and how to create such images i would be really grateful.
4 - More of a concept thing - since the connection angles differ from 90 degrees i will have to figure out how to connect the parts of the wall at sides ;).
I would like to ask you for help with the defintion, since i am totally stuck at step 2. I post what i came up with so far. Thank you for your time and help!
PS. I post an image that is pretty similar to one of options i would like to check for my building.
…
being driven by the wii nunchuck... But, here's my issue. I tried it first by having the output from the listener be a 6-digit number... so, I'm using the (CInt(Val(StoredValue))) command and it's writing out 181130... and I can easily split it up selecting the Left(x,3) or Right(x,3)... I first rant that number through a Format("{0:000000}",x) so that even if one of the accx or accy numbers were a 2-digit number (so my overall number would only have 5-digits)... with this Format function... I'm always assured a 6-digit number. And this method works... except...
If the first group of numbers coming in only has 2-digits... So, lets say the accelerometer read out of the first one (accx) is 89. Let's say the accy read out is 119. So, when I run this through the Format function to make it have at least 6 digits, my number now reads 011989. So, if I were to take the first three numbers on the right, my read out would be 989... which is much higher than my expected (60-180 range that is really coming over the Serial Port)... So, I'm back to where I started... in that I need to figure out a better way to split up the data.
Which brings me to your method. I tried it as well... in fact, I added a comma in the serial readout, so the string coming out of the listener reads 89,119. So, I can use your trick to go look for a delimeter and then read to the left and right a certain number of digits... The problem I still have is that the data going into the function is a string, and thus even if I split the 3 digits to the right of the comma out (so, my output says 119)... it's still a string, and my number parameter is still red. In your picture above, was your original 181 130 a number or a string? My guess is that it was understood as a number, because your number parameters at the end are accepting the value. But, in my case... I'm still stuck with the inability to convert a string to a number... Does this make sense? And are their any other workarounds?…
Added by Andy Payne at 9:42am on September 3, 2009
mplex the models are. If we are running multi-room E+ studies, that will take far longer to calculate.
Rhino/Grasshopper = <1%
Generating Radiance .ill files = 88%
Processing .ill files into DA, etc. = ~2%
E+ = 10%
Parallelizing Grasshopper:
My first instinct is to avoid this problem by running GH on one computer only. Creating the batch files is very fast. The trick will be sending the radiance and E+ batch files to multiple computers. Perhaps a “round-robin” approach could send each iteration to another node on the network until all iterations are assigned. I have no idea how to do that but hope that it is something that can be executed within grasshopper, perhaps a custom code module. I think GH can set a directory for Radiance and E+ to save all final files to. We can set this to a local server location so all runs output to the same location. It will likely run slower than it would on the C:drive, but those losses are acceptable if we can get parallelization to work.
I’m concerned about post-processing of the Radiance/E+ runs. For starters, Honeybee calculates DA after it runs the .ill files. This doesn’t take very long, but it is a separate process that is not included in the original Radiance batch file. Any other data manipulation we intend to automatically run in GH will be left out of the batch file as well. Consolidating the results into a format that Design Explorer or Pollination can read also takes a bit of post-processing. So, it seems to me that we may want to split up the GH automation as follows:
Initiate
Parametrically generate geometry
Assign input values, material, etc.
Generate radiance/ E+ batch files for all iterations
Calculate
Calc separate runs of Radiance/E+ in parallel via network clusters. Each run will be a unique iteration.
Save all temp files to single server location on server
Post Processing
Run a GH script from a single computer. Translate .ill files or .idf files into custom metrics or graphics (DA, ASE, %shade down, net solar gain, etc.)
Collect final data in single location (excel document) to be read by Design Explorer or Pollination.
The above workflow avoids having to parallelize GH. The consequence is that we can’t parallelize any post-processing routines. This may be easier to implement in the short term, but long term we should try to parallelize everything.
Parallelizing EnergyPlus/Radiance:
I agree that the best way to enable large numbers of iterations is to set up multiple unique runs of radiance and E+ on separate computers. I don’t see the incentive to split individual runs between multiple processors because the modular nature of the iterative parametric models does this for us. Multiple unique runs will simplify the post-processing as well.
It seems that the advantages of optimizing matrix based calculations (3-5 phase methods) are most beneficial when iterations are run in series. Is it possible for multiple iterations running on different CPUs to reference the same matrices stored in a common location? Will that enable parallel computation to also benefit from reusing pre-calculated information?
Clustering computers and GPU based calculations:
Clustering unused computers seems like a natural next step for us. Our IT guru told me that we need come kind of software to make this happen, but that he didn’t know what that would be. Do you know what Penn State uses? You mentioned it is a text-only Linux based system. Can you please elaborate so I can explain to our IT department?
Accelerad is a very exciting development, especially for rpict and annual glare analysis. I’m concerned that the high quality GPU’s required might limit our ability to implement it on a large scale within our office. Does it still work well on standard GPU’s? The computer cluster method can tap into resources we already have, which is a big advantage. Our current workflow uses image-based calcs sparingly, because grid-based simulations gather the critical information much faster. The major exception is glare. Accelerad would enable luminance-based glare metrics, especially annual glare metrics, to be more feasible within fast-paced projects. All of that is a good thing.
So, both clusters and GPU-based calcs are great steps forward. Combining both methods would be amazing, especially if it is further optimized by the computational methods you are working on.
Moving forward, I think I need to explore if/how GH can send iterations across a cluster network of some kind and see what it will take to implement Accelerad. I assume some custom scripting will be necessary.…
ou will see all of the available components on a ribbon at once so there is no need to keep clicking drop down menus.
It's all about discoverability with GH. What if you're a beginner and don't know about the Create Facility (dbl click canvas) how can you find Extr?
Even if you hover over every component or use the drop down lists you will not see the name Extr appear anywhere.
Sure it makes sense that Extr is short for Extrude but it's also the Nick Name of Extrude to Point component
So you can easily miss the fact that one has a Distance Input verses a Point Input.
I think I made the move to Icons around about the move from version 0.5 to 0.6, possibly before. I initially thought that I would go back to text because I loved the mono chromatic look of the text but I soon realised that Icons were the way forward. The greatest benefit is speed. You don't need to digest and decipher every component (which is written 90 degrees to the norm).
I'm not saying you should move to Icons forthwith but at least consider that once you have a better knowledge and understanding of GH, Icons will set you free.
My top ten tips that I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to better themselves with GH.
1) Turn on Draw Icons
2) Turn on Draw Fancy Wires
3) Turn on Obscure Components
4) Use the Create Facility like a Command Line eg "Slider=-1<0.75<2" or "Shiftlist=-1"
5) Use Component Aliases to customise your use of the Create Facility eg giving the Point XYZ component an alias of XYZ will bring it up as the first option on the Create Facility as opposed to the other possibilities.
6) Try to answer other people's questions even if it's not relevant to your own area. By looking into solving a problem outside of your comfort zone and then posting your results it is very rewarding but it also lets you see the other approaches that get posted in a new light.
7) Take the time to understand Data/Path structures.
8) Buy a second monitor - There is nothing that can compare to real estate when working in Grasshopper.
9) Read Rajaa Issa's Essential Mathematics
10) Pick a panel in a tab on the ribbon and get to know every component inside and out and then move on. Start with the Sets Tab > List Panel…
le with you.
I am trying to achieve the minimal path algorithm of Steiners tree in Python using the minimal path algorithm.The syntax would be as followsFirst I need to create a cube of any dimension.
Then I need to specify one origin say point A and destination point say B.
Now for this point A,B I need to create a machine based network which will automatically enroute A to B.
Where the angle will be constant i.e 120, length can be a variable, triangular node(steiners tree)using these constraints it will create a network.
Now, I should iterate the program in such a way that I should specify the further points say like A1 and B1 so on.The program will contain a limit constraint where it will come out of iteration loop and start a new loop,forming the network.
By this I will get a dense network of 120 deg branches.
The branching gets denser the moment I add source and destination points.
There can be 100 iterations to reach from A to B but the algorithm chooses the one following the minimal path.
I would be highly thankful to you if you would please share the python syntax and grasshopper definitionCapture.JPG for the same
Thank you for your time in advance
I would be highly grateful if you help me through
warm regards
Arya
12.gifShortest%20path%20algorithm.gh
min-paths.jpgcc.henn.studyimagesminimalpaths.jpg …
ace Syntax." eCAADe 2013 18 (2013): 357.
http://www.sss9.or.kr/paperpdf/mmd/sss9_2013_ref048_p.pdf
The measure Entropy is newer. I hereby explain it (from my PhD dissertation):
Entropy values, as described in (Hillier & Hanson, The Social Logic of Space, 1984) and specified in (Turner A. , “Depthmap: A Program to Perform Visibility Graph Analysis, 2007), intuitively describe the difficulty of getting to other spaces from a certain space. In other words, the higher the entropy value, the more difficult it is to reach other spaces from that space and vice-versa. We compute the spatial entropy of the node as using the point depth set:
(11)
“The term is the maximum depth from vertex and is the frequency of point depth *d* from the vertex” (ibid). Technically, we compute it using the function below, which itself uses some outputs and by-products from previous calculations:
Algorithm 4: Entropy Computation
Given the graph (adjacency lists), Depths as List of List of integer, DepthMap as Dictionary of integer
Initialize Entropies as List(double)
For node as integer in range [0, |V|)
integer How_Many_of_D=0
double S_node=0
For depth as integer in range [1, Depths[node].Max()]
How_Many_of_D=DepthMap.Branch[(node,depth)].Count
double frequency= How_Many_of_D/|V|
S_node = S_node - frequency * Math.Log(frequency, 2)
Next
Entropies [node] = S_node
Next
…