Building Association Lists: A Simple Block Counter [AutoLISP Tutorial]

[Lee Mac]

I've spent some time writing up the following tutorial which aims to demonstrate how to construct a simple block counter and in the process give the user an introduction to association lists and dotted pairs:

Building Association Lists: A Simple Block Counter

 

The tutorial is a step-by-step walkthrough of the process of creating the block counter, with diversions here and there to explain the various concepts used by the program.

 

Throughout the tutorial I've also tried to explain why every part of the code is used in the way that it is, rather than providing the reader with a block of code and leaving some parts without an explanation (for example, why the program should include (princ) or (prin1) as the last expression etc.).

 

I welcome your feedback on the tutorial -

 

Is it too simplified?

Is it too long?

Too boring?

All of the above?

 

Feel free to also point out any typos, as these can be difficult to spot when proof-reading your own work.

 

Thanks,

 

Lee

[iconeo]

Oh man Xmas gift from Lee....

[Grrr]

Looks nice at first glance. Can't say that its too booring, long or simplified, otherwise you couldn't teach newbies like me.

Merry xmas, guys!

[ketxu]

Nice Lee. Thanks for your tut. Can i translate it to my language and post somewhere with ur @ ?^^

[hanhphuc]

wow really appreciate Lee sacrifices this Xmas moment in writing this long tut for lisp community

[David Bethel]

First off : VERY nice !

 

A suggestion

 

(setq sel ;; Assign the value returned by the following expression to the symbol 'sel'

 

Maybe the term bind or bound is more apropos to LISP language than assign

 

Maybe a small explanation or an example of a quoted symbol ( setq vs set )

 

(setq  sel "Valid")
(set  'sel  "Valid)
(set (quote sel) "Vaild")

 

Your format is different from any I've seen before. It will be interesting to hear the feedback from a true newbie.

 

Regard -David

[Lee Mac]

Oh man Xmas gift from Lee....

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Looks nice at first glance. Can't say that its too booring, long or simplified, otherwise you couldn't teach newbies like me.

Merry xmas, guys!

 

Thanks - I hope its comprehensible!

 

Nice Lee. Thanks for your tut. Can i translate it to my language and post somewhere with ur @ ?^^

 

You are welcome to translate the tutorial and post it elsewhere, but I would ask that you include a note stating that the post is a translation with a link to the original tutorial on my site - thanks.

 

wow really appreciate Lee sacrifices this Xmas moment in writing this long tut for lisp community

 

You're welcome, my pleasure.

 

First off : VERY nice !

 

Thank you David!

 

A suggestion

(setq sel ;; Assign the value returned by the following expression to the symbol 'sel'

Maybe the term bind or bound is more apropos to LISP language than assign

 

Maybe a small explanation or an example of a quoted symbol ( setq vs set )

(setq  sel "Valid")
(set  'sel  "Valid)
(set (quote sel) "Vaild")

 

Coincidentally, I had considered a few different ways of wording this, using phrases such as 'bind' or that the variable 'points' to the data, but I eventually chose 'assign' as I didn't want the language used in the tutorial to be overly technical so as to bewilder a beginner from the outset.

 

Perhaps the process of how data is bound to a variable, or how the variable accesses the appropriate memory address is best covered in a separate tutorial.

 

Your format is different from any I've seen before. It will be interesting to hear the feedback from a true newbie.

 

Do you mean the process of building the program expression-by-expression, or the accompanying explanations?

 

Thanks for the feedback - I appreciate it!

[David Bethel]

I think I leaned more toward (boundp).

 

As to the format, I guess I'd describe yours as the evolution of a program. Interesting concept.

 

Maybe removing the comments from the previous example would emphasize the added calls. Just a thought.

 

We all learn differently, so it will be interesting to to see other responses.

 

-David

[gammnuevo]

Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

Thanks - I hope its comprehensible!

 

 

 

You are welcome to translate the tutorial and post it elsewhere, but I would ask that you include a note stating that the post is a translation with a link to the original tutorial on my site - thanks.

 

 

 

You're welcome, my pleasure.

 

 

 

Thank you David!

 

 

 

Coincidentally, I had considered a few different ways of wording this, using phrases such as 'bind' or that the variable 'points' to the data, but I eventually chose 'assign' as I didn't want the language used in the tutorial to be overly technical so as to bewilder a beginner from the outset.

 

Perhaps the process of how data is bound to a variable, or how the variable accesses the appropriate memory address is best covered in a separate tutorial.

 

 

 

Do you mean the process of building the program expression-by-expression, or the accompanying explanations?

 

Thanks for the feedback - I appreciate it!

 

 

My native language is Spanish and I am little experimented in AutoLISP but anyway your tutorial was completely understandable for me. I was needing exactly an association list for a routine.

 

Thank you very much.

[Lee Mac]

Excellent to hear gammnuevo! - I'm delighted that you found the tutorial to be clear & comprehensible, even with English as a second language!