Visual GDL editor [again]

[Anonymous]

I’ve just finished manufacturer’s object library for ARCHICAD and Revit. When I was asked to do this job hourly, I had to estimate three times the time for ARCHICAD GDL programming than I had to for the same Revit family. Revit family editor lets me do all the BIM object creation tasks at least three times as fast, hence the difference.

I think the time has come to finally create a visual GDL editor to supplement all the other great features of ARCHICAD.

Today, world’s BIM software acceptance hinges on BIM object availability, and no matter the refined parametric ARCHICAD libraries we have now, they are no match for countless manufacturers’ objects that need to be created daily to represent all the BIM building components. Without proper GDL visual editor ARCHICAD is loosing the battle and people choose BIM applications with better BIM object support.

I can’t think of any feature for AC23 and beyond that may have as high growth impact potential for ARCHICAD franchise than easy to use Visual GDL editor.

[Ghaleb Khadra]

Hi All,

Thank you for requesting this feature, and for your active participation on the forums.

I am happy to say that we have added this into our Wish database.
As reference, the Wish number is 12574

Thank you all for sharing your ideas with us, and thank you all who voted.
Furthermore, I understand the frustration some of you are having, and I believe it is justified. I would like to encourage you all to report this to your local Support Team. The more something is requested, the higher it gets in the queue. So please feel free to always voice your opinions. We highly appreciate it!

[Stay Active. Stay Awesome ]
Kind regards,
Ghaleb

[leceta]

"architect friendly" it´s too vague terminology, it honestly doesn´t make any sense to me.

It would be great we could express this idea in a more concise way. There is the risk that someone is interpreting "architect friendly", as "non-techie", or even worse "someone incapable of abstract thinking"???. Our architect training its technically complex enough and a building can be as a "complex system" as any software piece of software... An architect mindset is perfectly capable of designing and algorithm.

Moreover, its becoming a commonplace the idea that anyone should start learning code ASAP, that it will become a must have skill in a few years...

So please, what does it mean "architect friendly"? Something like the new functions implemented for Complex Profile? parametric dimensions? Does it mean that archiCad needs something like "Revit families"? Well, if so, be aware that Revit families easily become complex and unmaintainable. I´m still waiting for a working alternative to coding. Grasshopper (and the like) are the best working alternative to coding, afaik.

[Anonymous]

Hi leceta,

Please don't get me wrong. I'm not here to demnish the architect role in this industry. I know we architects have to deal with extreme complex variables (cost, aesthetics, function, proportion, structure, etc). And surely we are capable to do algorithm design. But being capable of something doesn't mean I am willing to do it. I am capable of delivering my IRS every year, but ask me if I like.

Architects like to sketch. We usually have the "vision" of the constructed thing. Algorithm design (as coding) , needs mathematical abstraction that IMHO not many architects have. I am sure you have it. But the average architect don't. And please anybody correct me if I am wrong.

I totally agree that in the current state of technologic revolution, everybody needs to know coding ASAPossible. But lets not forget that we don't need code to do good architecture.

Complex modifiers is a good example of a good approach for an architect mindset. Autodesk is exploring it for a long time. I thing GS should improve it, for example extending it to radius dimensions, and even in the plan view. But overall I think the Visual approach is more appellative to the architect taste.

Or perhaps I am wrong.

Cheers,

Paulo

p.s.: Perhaps you could send me the GH WIP file in PM. (?)

[Professor Pickle]

It’s great that some people are able to harness the power of GH and GDL (even if GDL is an antiquated and awkward language). However this is waaaaay to complicated and inconvenient.

I don’t like to bring this up but I feel I have to: I’d like to see something like Revit’s family editor. It’s a quick and easy to use tool to create powerful parametric objects in a visual manner. I’m sure that this idea can be expanded and improved.

[Professor Pickle]

leceta wrote:
"architect friendly" it´s too vague terminology, it honestly doesn´t make any sense to me.

It would be great we could express this idea in a more concise way. There is the risk that someone is interpreting "architect friendly", as "non-techie", or even worse "someone incapable of abstract thinking"???. Our architect training its technically complex enough and a building can be as a "complex system" as any software piece of software... An architect mindset is perfectly capable of designing and algorithm.

Moreover, its becoming a commonplace the idea that anyone should start learning code ASAP, that it will become a must have skill in a few years...

So please, what does it mean "architect friendly"? Something like the new functions implemented for Complex Profile? parametric dimensions? Does it mean that archiCad needs something like "Revit families"? Well, if so, be aware that Revit families easily become complex and unmaintainable. I´m still waiting for a working alternative to coding. Grasshopper (and the like) are the best working alternative to coding, afaik.

Yes, I agree, "architect friendly" is way too vague. And anyway, there are many architects who are highly technically skilled and there is a whole new generation who are not only highly technologically literate but expect technology to be progressive, expressive and most importantly supportive. GDL as it currently stands is none of those things in my mind. It is a system designed for a very small group of people with specialist knowledge that typically doesn't cross over to the realm of general visual design.

As for Revit families having problems due to complexity, I don't really agree with that statement. Most of these problems stem from users not knowing/understanding how to use the tool. Also complex things are, well, complex and by their very nature become difficult to deal with. However Revit's tool is flexible enough and supportive enough that it allows for alternative workflows that deal with complexity. Form example, you can use nested families, etc.

As for the general discussion of what a "graphical parametric object editor" should look like in ArchiCAD, that is a separate thread perhaps. I think that this idea needs to get a lot of input from users.

[Anonymous]

Hi Tomek,

And thanks for the input.

Tomek wrote:
Yes, I agree, "architect friendly" is way too vague

Please let me know if I didn't make myself clear, and I will try to refrase.

Cheers,

Paulo

[vdentello]

Ghaleb wrote:
Hi All,

Thank you for requesting this feature, and for your active participation on the forums.

I am happy to say that we have added this into our Wish database.
As reference, the Wish number is 12574

Thank you all for sharing your ideas with us, and thank you all who voted.
Furthermore, I understand the frustration some of you are having, and I believe it is justified. I would like to encourage you all to report this to your local Support Team. The more something is requested, the higher it gets in the queue. So please feel free to always voice your opinions. We highly appreciate it!

[Stay Active. Stay Awesome ]
Kind regards,
Ghaleb

Hopeful, but, it still may take a couple time developing.

But please, just finally give us a sidebar with line numbers just like any IDE you can imagine. It's really bad to press CTRL+L every time you want to hop to a line.

That's not rocket engineering to ask.

[Professor Pickle]

Ghaleb wrote:
Hi All,

Thank you for requesting this feature, and for your active participation on the forums.

I am happy to say that we have added this into our Wish database.
As reference, the Wish number is 12574

Is there some way to check in on the progress of the wish? Or is the wishing bucket locked up somewhere in a basement where nobody ever looks? 😉

It would be awesome if Graphisoft had a more transparent development process with a public road map of planned features. I think this would go a long way to making a lot of people happy.

[Laszlo Nagy]

Tomek wrote:
It would be awesome if Graphisoft had a more transparent development process with a public road map of planned features. I think this would go a long way to making a lot of people happy.

You could make a wish for a Public Roadmap.

[runxel]

Tomek wrote:
It would be awesome if Graphisoft had a more transparent development process with a public road map of planned features. I think this would go a long way to making a lot of people happy.

True that.
Take Rhino as an example! They are doing a great job in that regards.
The bugtracker etc. are all open accessible. Devs are on the forum and highly active.

Also they don't do yearly releases.
That's a big plus and if you think yearly releases are great, you're wrong and evil.
Nobody likes them.
- The users don't, because features are not ready but getting shipped nontheless.
- The CAD managers don't, because migration to a new Archicad is so flawed and troublesome.
- The programmers, because they have unreachable goals and have to ship an uncompleted feature set.
- The company shouldn't like it, because of all this.

Stop alienating users with another workaround.
Enable them! That's what technology should be for. :- )

(Also McNeel makes the Beta a continous thing by giving everybody who owns a software key the access to the newest weekly alpha builds. This makes it an overall smoother process for everybody and rules out possible shipwrecks [«oh, you need drainage on both sides of the stair? well well well! not gonna add it, it's to late in this beta.» 臘‍♂️])