Re: software to do drawings of houses, gardens, etc.

[Erik Christiansen <dvalin@internode.on.net>]

On 28.11.17 07:58, Eric S Fraga wrote:
> On Tuesday, 28 Nov 2017 at 15:37, Erik Christiansen wrote:
> > After trying to get various GUI drawing packages to function at the most
> > basic level, and failing to produce anything, I'm just finishing the 8
> > drawings for my new house build (floor plan, elevations, sections, and
> > site plan), using raw postscript. That has proven a better fit for a
> > retired programmer.
> 
> Wow, definitely old skool!  It's been years since I wrote raw
> postscript.
> 
> On that note, did you look at xfig?  Not a CAD program, as such, but
> quite good for drawings of the sort you are doing maybe.  Also old
> skool...

Interesting ... I had not heard of it previously. Looking at it on
wikipedia, I see "Most operations in Xfig are performed using the
mouse," For the first, I've had no luck mouse-wrangling GUI drawing
packages - it's all so counter-intuitive, and nothing works for me. For
the second, after my 8 drawings I cannot imagine how I'd mouse-wrangle
something as simple as a wall cross-section with complete positional and
dimensional precision. In postscript, it's just:

/wall_height 2700 def
%    X  Y         X      Y       
   3600 0 moveto 100 wall_height box   % Let's put it at 3600 mm from origin,
                                       % at floor level.

(OK, I have a "box" function, as that's not native postscript.)

If I used a mouse, all the walls would differ in thickness, and only be
approximately in the right position. Yeah, there's probably snap-to-grid,
but that has to be too fine to add anything, if it's to handle arbitrary
dimensions. If you have to create with the mouse, then mouse-select a
side to give it a precise dimension via a dialogue box, then it seems
easier to skip the mouse-wrangling, as it doesn't add anything.

The only disadvantages are that programming a suite of artifacts to place
would drive 99% of users nuts at the outset, and drawing with text would
finish that job, despite the fact that drawing 14 solar panels on the
roof was just:

      14 { 1650 500 box 70 0 rmoveto } repeat stroke   % PV panels

(They're only 500 high, as viewed, because the roof is at 30°)

Erik