{"id":88,"date":"2008-06-23T04:54:53","date_gmt":"2008-06-23T12:54:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=88"},"modified":"2009-12-25T08:54:30","modified_gmt":"2009-12-25T16:54:30","slug":"book-review-solidworks-2008-api","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=88","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: SolidWorks 2008 API"},"content":{"rendered":"

SolidWorks 2008 API Programming & Automation<\/em> is\u00a0recent self-published book by Luke Malpass, founder of AngelSix<\/a>.\u00a0 (You will not find his book on Amazon.)\u00a0 Mr. Malpass wrote this book to fill an apparent gap in guide books about SolidWorks API.\u00a0 The last book that I know of written specifically on this topic was Automating SolidWorks 2006 using Macros<\/em>\u00a0<\/a>by Mike Spens<\/a>, published way back in 2005.\u00a0 Like that book, Mr. Malpass’ new book is spiral bound.<\/p>\n

Mr. Malpass states in\u00a0his introduction that he wrote his book to share his “ways of thinking and programming and hopefully to enlighten at least one other person’s day.”\u00a0 Much of the book is written in this same friendly manner.\u00a0 At times, the book is not written in a way that some would consider professional.\u00a0 Yet, he gets his points across clearly.\u00a0 The book is accessibly readable by experienced and novice programmers alike.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first chapter is correctly labelled “The Basics”.\u00a0 The first section gets right into the task at hand.\u00a0The lesson teaches how to make and use recorded macros.\u00a0 The book next jumps right into writing macros from scratch.\u00a0 It takes a step by step approach that reveals what code is necessary.\u00a0 It\u00a0explains each line\u00a0in Mr. Malpass’ ever present friendly style.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As one reads through the book, they will find code examples being built and explained\u00a0piece by piece in both C# and VBA.\u00a0 These macros are real world examples that the reader may find immediately useful.\u00a0 Instructions are so clear that many will be able to apply the demonstrated code in their own macros.<\/p>\n

One good example of this is found in the first chapter.\u00a0 Right near the beginning of the book, Mr. Malpass provides instructions on how to make a macro that save each drawing sheet as an individual DXF File automatically.\u00a0 This example is great because this question actually comes up a lot in the online message forums.<\/p>\n

Many more\u00a0important topics are\u00a0extensively covered.\u00a0 These include\u00a0working with selected objects, implementation of Property Manager Pages, traversing through each type of document, Custom Property Manager, working with drawings, use of forms, and how to create and use Add-ins (something of special interest to many).\u00a0 Additionally, all macro examples within the book are included in completed form on a CD.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Of course, the book covers both C# and VBA code examples.\u00a0 However, it also often talks extensively about VB.NET.\u00a0 I found the instructions regarding VB.NET to be distracting, especially since few VB.NET examples appear in the book except for one section written specifically for it.\u00a0 Granted, VB.NET and VBA are very similar.\u00a0 However, in my opinion, differences are enough to warrant specific examples for each language.\u00a0 It should be noted that some VB.NET examples are provided on the CD.\u00a0 It seems to me that this book may have been better served if it focused on VB.NET and VBA instead of C# and VBA.\u00a0 C# may have been better handled within its own book.\u00a0 This would’ve allowed for more room in the book for more specific examples on even more topics, such as more information on how to read and utilize data from external files or methods specifically addressing the handling of BOM’s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One minor point of concern I found is\u00a0within statement of ownership by the author.\u00a0 It’s a boiler plate “all rights reserved” statement that limits reproduction or distribution without written permission of the publisher.\u00a0\u00a0 As this applies to the book itself, I stand by such statements.\u00a0 However, in my view, it is not practical to place such limitations on code examples.\u00a0 Doing so kind of defeats the purpose of the book.\u00a0 That is not to say an author should not hold control over their works, but that if an author chooses\u00a0to provide examples on how to do something, limitations should not be placed on the examples themselves.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0(SolidWorks Corp makes a statement in their API Help that grants permission for the unlimited use of their examples.)<\/p>\n

That aside, my opinion is that this book is great for anyone with programming exposure and who wishes to learn how to apply that experience directly to SolidWorks.\u00a0 It is not meant for the person that has never attempted to program, unless that person is a brave soul willing to dive right in to the process.\u00a0 I believe this book will be useful for people from\u00a0novices to those of advanced\u00a0programming skill.\u00a0 It may also be a good reference guide to professionally trained expert programmers for\u00a0SolidWorks specific programming possibilities and requirements.\u00a0 I recommend this book.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer:\u00a0 This review is unsolicited by the book’s author.\u00a0 It is\u00a0based on use of\u00a0product that I purchased at full price.\u00a0 I receive no compensation for referrals.<\/p>\n

If you are interested in SolidWorks 2008 API Programming & Automation<\/em>, it may be purchased here: AngelSix.com<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SolidWorks 2008 API Programming & Automation is\u00a0recent self-published book by Luke Malpass, founder of AngelSix.\u00a0 (You will not find his book on Amazon.)\u00a0 Mr. Malpass wrote this book to fill an apparent gap in guide books about SolidWorks API.\u00a0 The last book that I know of written specifically on this topic was Automating SolidWorks 2006 … Continue reading “Book Review: SolidWorks 2008 API”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,95,5],"tags":[473,205,206,204],"series":[],"class_list":["post-88","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-how-to","category-macros","category-product-review","tag-api","tag-book","tag-book-review","tag-luke-malpass"],"yoast_head":"\nBook Review: SolidWorks 2008 API - 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