BBEdit Lite 6.1 for OS X and .gsm files

[Anonymous]

Hello,
This is something I just discovered and don't understand.
I wanted to compare the text in a library part made in AC 9
with the text of one made in AC 8.1.
I launched BBEdit and went to file -> open and navigated
to a folder that contained the two library parts I wanted to
compare. The AC 9 part's icon was normal and selectable
but the AC 8.1 part's icon was grayed-out. I navigated to
a folder containing library parts created in AC 6.5
and their icons were grayed-out.

Does anyone know anything about this ?

Thank you,
Peter Devlin

[Frank Beister]

As in the HFS filesystem of the (old) MacOS 9.x MacOS X tries to give all files a resource fork to save the creator and filetype. If there's no such information MacOS detects the type as windows does by the extension.
The HFS system captured the resource- and the data fork in one file. MacOS X emulates this by creating a hidden file (starts with a dot) same named as the normal (data) file, which keeps this resource information. If you copy a MacOS created file to a FAT formatted volume or e.g. a USB-stick you can see these both files from other platforms (MacOS 9 or Windows).
BBedit seems to check by the resource information, if the file is readable for it. Your grayed files will be native MacOS X objects, the files BBEdit can read you will have imported from Windows.

[Anonymous]

Frank,
Thank you for posting back.
I wonder if there is a way to convert files created in the Mac OS
to a Windows native file or, get BBEedit to read the hidden
resource file. This is probably gibberish because I can't imagine
how reading one file would help in reading another file.
This computer science stuff is way over my head.
Thank you again for your information.
Peter Devlin
P.S. I like your "trygon" object. It is fun to play with
and is an education in 3D interactive hotspot coding.

[Frank Beister]

There are ways to convert it, I am shure, but I haven't one "quick and shure" by the hand. For MacOS 9 we had a "ResEdit", which was able to change the type of a file and/or the creator. Same did FileTyper. Try to use another editor. Maybe he's not so gingerly. Open and save it under a new name. Maybe this changes to a creator, BBedit accepts. Or try a Hexeditor. Some free ones do "compare" too and have a Text-preview.

I like TRIGON too. It's interesting to work with the primitive body generation by VERT and PGON. Slowly I come behind some secrets. Is a lot of math, but fun. I improved the object a bit to be freely rotateable in space. So you can place a couple of triangles on the floor plan drag all points at their positions, aktivate all and, if shurely all have the same basepoint, you can rotate the whole shape freely in space. Or save it as a new 3D-Object. Model in floor plan and rotate to the facade. Next step will be numbering the borders, drawing a true flat shape in floor plan to make a material list (or a folding plan to cut and make a real model) and realize exact texture wrapping. I am not shure, if I will make it public domain or try to get some money for it (depends of the time investment).

[Anonymous]

Frank,
I will definitely try another editor.

Yes, I did notice you used primitives in your "trygon" object.

Terrifying!!

There are now only three people I know of that can work with
primitives. You, Olivier Dantan, and one programer at GS R&D.

Why did you choose to work with primitives ?
What advantages do they have over the higher level commands ?

Thanks,
Peter Devlin

[Frank Beister]

- I can control each vertex by a graphical hotspot to move
- I can switch (un)visible each edge
- I can wrap on it a texture exactly (see a thread half a year ago)
- In this case: I could export the nodes, edges, pgon etc. to file and could autoscript a native GDL by graphical changes.
- I can do some math again.

I started working with it by writing an polygonal object, which spans a web of triangles. Each node I can lift and move as the freeform tool. This web I can give any surface none of the predefined commands can give to me. All I need is the algorithm to calculate the vertices. And that all by the full control of each triangle in space. First I did a flag, which flutters in the wind nearly realistic, because each triangle depends of its neighboured one. A bit like infinte element calculation. And the algorithm has some random components to make it not look like a sinus-wave. One problem was, and this caused the thread about the TEVE-command, that no GDL command wraps a texture or picture exactly on a folded surface. If you get high hills and deep valleys each command looses the exact connection to the next triangles. Only TEVE does this job. And this causes working with primitives.

I am still looking for a easy to GDL transferable algorithm to calculate nurbs or blobs. I am happy to have found one for splines. I first step, but still on the hunt. But before I have find some ... time. 😉

[Anonymous]

Frank,
Thanks for the reply.
You refer to "infinte element calculation".
I have heard of "finite element calculation"
but not infinte element calculation.
What is that ?
I did not know about any of the potential advantages of primatives.
Thank you for listing some of them.
Peter Devlin

[Frank Beister]

I have heard of "finite element calculation"
but not infinte element calculation.
What is that ?

A misspelling late at night. The elements are "finite", otherwise my object wouldn't end.

[Anonymous]

Hello Frank,
I followed your advice and went looking for another text editor.
After much prowling on the web I decided to go home.
Guess which one did the job.
The Mac default text editor "TextEdit".
A profit in his own land.
Thanks for the advise.
Peter Devlin

[Frank Beister]

But now you have an overview of the editor market. You haven't found an editor, which compares two ".gsm" files without changing their creator, isn't it? Would have been funny too.