Need Help With Plugin

Question

I need some help with a plugin I am working on. I am new to C# and OOP. Have went thru the Tutorial and the SDK Tutorials also.  How do I get the values from the form in to my C# code?
 public enum LocationType { Wall = 255, Empty = 0, Destination = 254, Source = 1 } public struct Location {

instead of Wall = 255, how do I get Wall = textBox1.Text. textBox1 being the Textbox name. Thanks RichardZ

ptp · Answer

//Option1: // null => 0 AND returns false // empty => 0 AND returns false // non integer => 0 AND returns false int i1; if (!int.TryParse(textBox1.Text, out i1)) { //it's not an integer //raise an error } //Option2: // null => 0 // empty => raises an exception // non integer => raises an exception int i2 = Convert.ToInt32(textBox1.Text); //Option2: // null => raises an exception // empty => raises an exception // non integer => raises an exception int i3 = int.Parse(textBox1.Text);

If you're collecting input from a user, I'd go with option #1

rz90208 · Answer

Thank you ptp, I have decided to leave the values for Robot, Empty, Wall and Goal as set values. Having them as part of an enumeration is my problem there I think. In the picture I posted, Map Variable is $MyMap. This is a string of 6400 characters. Each character represents a 1'x1' block. How do I get this variable from ARC into my C#? I plan to use 2 for loops to move the data from the $MyMap variable to a 2 dimension array in the plugin.

ptp · Answer

private void DoSomething() { //Get EZScript's map variable var mapString = VariableManager.GetVariable("$MyMap"); //example map 4 x 3 => "X....X....X." //Convert string to an array of 4 by 3 var map4X3 = StringToMap(mapString, 4); DoSomethingWithMap(map4X3); //Convert array to string var newMapString = MapToString(map4X3); //Set EZScript's map variable VariableManager.SetVariable("$MyMap", newMapString); } private void DoSomethingWithMap(char[,] map) { for (var rowIndex = 0; rowIndex ().ToArray()); } private static char[,] StringToMap(string flatString, int width) { var flatArray = flatString.ToCharArray(); var height = (int)Math.Ceiling(flatArray.Length / (double)width); var result = new char[height, width]; for (var index = 0; index < flatArray.Length; index++) { var rowIndex = index / width; var colIndex = index % width; result[rowIndex, colIndex] = flatArray[index]; } return result; }

ptp · Answer

Quote: instead of Wall = 255, how do I get Wall = textBox1.Text. textBox1 being the Textbox name.  Quote: Having them as part of an enumeration is my problem there I think.  If your wall value is an enum you should use a ComboBox to capture the user input. To load the ComboBox LocationTypeComboBox:
 LocationTypeComboBox.DataSource = Enum.GetValues(typeof(LocationType)); LocationTypeComboBox.SelectedIndex = 0;

To get the enum from the ComboBox:
 LocationType locationType; Enum.TryParse(LocationTypeComboBox.SelectedValue.ToString(), out locationType);

The "Standard" for a Label and Input is: Label TextBox Label ComboBox ...

rz90208 · Answer

Thank you I believe this is what I was missing. I have picked up a few books on C# and going thru the lessons. catching on to the syntax easy enough but some of the concepts are a bit tough to get my head around. It is a bit different from TRS-80 Basic.

rz90208 · Answer

When I execute the plugin, I get an error: An exception of type 'System.Exception' occurred in ARC.exe but was not handled in user code Additional information: Variable is an array: $MyMap Makes sense to me. in ARC $MyMap is an array of 6400 the line of code reads:
 var mapString = VariableManager.GetVariable("$MyMap");

ptp · Answer

Quote: In the picture I posted, Map Variable is $MyMap. This is a string of 6400 characters.  You mentioned a string. if your variable is an Array:
 //Get value from position 0 of $MyMap array VariableManager.GetVariable("$MyMap", 0)

ptp · Answer

I'm curious, what you plan to do with EZ-Script and an Array of 80x80 i.e. 6400 positions ?

ptp · Answer

if you want to minimize the code you can use my extension method. EZ-Script doesn't have typed types, GetVariable always returns a string. My method will convert the string or array of strings to the type specified in the invocation. Examples:
 var str1 = this.GetVariable("$str1"); var int1 = this.GetVariable("$int1"); var arrayOfString1 = this.GetVariable("$arrayOfString1"); var arrayOfInteger1 = this.GetVariable("$arrayOfInteger1");

although is your responsibility to store the correct data type when using EZ-Script.
 private T GetVariable(string variableName) { if (!VariableManager.DoesVariableExist(variableName)) { return default(T); } if (!typeof(T).IsArray) { if (!VariableManager.IsVariableArray(variableName)) { return (T)Convert.ChangeType(VariableManager.GetVariable(variableName), typeof(T)); } //requested type is array but the variable is not an array => return null; return default(T); } var arraySize = VariableManager.GetArraySize(variableName); var elementType = typeof(T).GetElementType(); var array = Array.CreateInstance(elementType, arraySize); for (var i = 0; i < arraySize; i++) { var elementValue = Convert.ChangeType(VariableManager.GetVariable(variableName, i), elementType); array.SetValue(elementValue, i); } return (T)(object)array; }

rz90208 · Answer

@PTP, I am working on a wavefront navigation plugin and $MyMap is the flat array of the house (80x80). I have written it in EZ-Script but it was extremely slow. So I decided to make a plugin. I have sense discovered that it I get rid of the variable monitor, the array initializes in less the a second instead of 20 min. I have thought of going back to the EZ-Script version but It is about time I learned C# anyway. My son if fluent in C# OOP, but he is so busy with his work and his 2 autistic children. I will read thru the code and get back with you soon. I could attach my C# project and the EZ-Script for that matter if you like. Thanks again RichardZ

DJ Sures · Answer

Good discovery, Richard. Any of the debugging controls will dramatically slow down the project. It's because rendering a significant number of items to the screen is very taxing on the CPU. Sounds like you have a pretty interesting and fun project over there! I bet everyone is excited to see and hear more - I sure am!

DJ Sures · Answer

Also should add this link, which explains eZscript variables and methods: https://synthiam.com/Tutorials/UserTutorials/146/18

rz90208 · Answer

DJ, Is this valid? It does not give me an error but it does not seem to work ether.
 VariableManager.SetVariable("$Disp2[" + MyCount +"]", map[x1, y1]);

DJ Sures · Answer

That will make a variable name that won't be referenced Check the previously mentioned tutorial for creating arrays: https://synthiam.com/Tutorials/UserTutorials/146/18

rz90208 · Answer

Got it! Ended up with this:
 VariableManager.CreateVariableArray("$Disp2",0,0); for (int x1 = 0; x1 < map.GetLength(0); x1++) { for (int y1 = 0; y1 < map.GetLength(1); y1++) { disp = map[x1, y1].ToString(); VariableManager.AppendToVariableArray("$Disp2", disp); } }

rz90208 · Answer

I have read thru the Tutorial more time then I can count. Digging thru the Object Browser and a lot of trial & even more error, I am getting close. I will have a write up on it soon. For now, you give the plugin a map of your home. $MyMap 255 = Wall 254 = The Robot 1 = The Goal 0 = Open Space Call the Plugin and it will Return an Array named $MyRoute. With in the Array Starting from the Robots position a "-" indicates the next location to move towards the goal. So if you have an 80x80 map, $MyRoute[0 - 79] is column 0, [80 - 159] is column 1and so on. On my map North and West are 0,0 To move east on the map +1 to current position, to move south +80 to current position. - 80 for north, -1 west. Now to add movement and object avoidance. My plan is.. if an object is detected, mark the position on the map and resubmit it to the plugin to get a new solution. Thank you both for your help. Hope to have it public soon. RichardZ

DJ Sures · Answer

You got it! That's the correct code as posted. Or since you know the size of the array, you can do this...
 VariableManager.CreateVariableArray("$Disp2",0, map.GetLength(0) * map.GetLength(1)); int index = 0; for (int x1 = 0; x1 < map.GetLength(0); x1++) { for (int y1 = 0; y1 < map.GetLength(1); y1++) { disp = map[x1, y1].ToString(); VariableManager.SetVariable("$Disp2", disp, index) index++; } }

rz90208

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