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Function variables

james_sleemanjames_sleeman Member, Developers Posts: 21 ✭✭
It would be super useful to be able to define a variable as a function, so that we could do something like

#myFunctionVariable(5)

where

#myFunctionVariable(x) = [equation involving x]

use case for example would be in having some standard and centrally configurable adjustment for hole sizes, to achieve dimensionally accurate holes on 3d printers without having to hard-code in your printer/filament's peculiarities we could just dimension our 3mm holes to #hole(3) such that the #hole(x) variable was defined as an equation that produces the correctly adjusted dimension. 

Comments

  • ilya_baranilya_baran Onshape Employees, Developers, HDM Posts: 1,210
    edited May 2016
    With FeatureScript released, you can now do basically this, just using a Feature Studio.  Create a custom feature with code like this:

    annotation { "Feature Type Name" : "Add My Functions" }
    export const addMyFunctions = defineFeature(function(context is Context, id is Id, definition is map)
        precondition
        {
        }
        {
            setVariable(context, "myFunctionVariable",
                function(x) {
                    return x + 2 * millimeter; // Function code goes here
                }
            );
            // You can make more setVariable calls here to make more functions
        });
    

    And then in your Part Studio, add the "Add My Functions" feature at the beginning of the feature list.  You can then use #myFunctionVariable(2 cm) in a subsequent expression (to get 22mm).  Eventually we'll make it possible to just set the value by defining the myFunctionVariable variable without creating a Feature Studio.
    Ilya Baran \ VP, Architecture and FeatureScript \ Onshape Inc
  • pablo_fernandez_techpablo_fernandez_tech Member Posts: 5
    I tried this, but I get "Enter a valid expression" when I try to use the function:


  • ilya_baranilya_baran Onshape Employees, Developers, HDM Posts: 1,210
    It's impossible to debug without a link to a public document.  A possible explanation is that your function is not returning a quantity with the right units -- it needs to return a length.
    Ilya Baran \ VP, Architecture and FeatureScript \ Onshape Inc
  • chadstoltzfuschadstoltzfus Member, Developers, csevp Posts: 139 PRO
    edited September 2022
    I was very curious to try this out and it turns out that there's a lot you can do with these functions, at least a lot more than I thought. They're a pain to debug and you miss out on the great snippet inserts you get in Feature Studios, but it's cool that things like for loops work in variables.

    Here's a variable that displays a decimal as a fraction (just paste this into the Value field of a variable feature).

    function(x){var wholeNumber = floor((x + 1e-11 * meter) / inch);var remainder = x / inch - wholeNumber;var fraction = 1;for (var i = 0; i < 8; i += 1){if (abs(remainder - round(remainder)) < 1e-11) { break;}remainder *= 2;fraction *= 2;}if (fraction == 1){return wholeNumber ~ "\"";     }  var fractionalPart = round(remainder) ~ "/" ~ fraction;if (wholeNumber == 0){return fractionalPart ~ "\"";}return wholeNumber ~ " " ~ fractionalPart ~ "\""; }




    This is definitely one of those "why would you ever do this" sort of situations, as it is way more efficient and simpler to just write a custom feature, but who knows there might be some cases where it's better to just use a variable. One could imagine a variable studio of functions that one might want to use often. 
    Applications Developer at Premier Custom Built
    chadstoltzfus@premiercb.com
  • EvanReeseEvanReese Member, Mentor Posts: 2,083 ✭✭✭✭✭
    One could imagine a variable studio of functions that one might want to use often. 
    This is definitely fascinating, but I agree that I can't quite picture the use-case where that's better than a feature. There probably is one somewhere though.
    Evan Reese
  • EvanReeseEvanReese Member, Mentor Posts: 2,083 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I tried this, but I get "Enter a valid expression" when I try to use the function:


    If you're using Ilya's code above you need to add units to the number since you can't add a number, and length together. Try #myFunctionVariable(2mm) instead.
    Evan Reese
  • pablo_fernandez_techpablo_fernandez_tech Member Posts: 5
    The problem was that I didn't have a unit.
  • fstfst Member Posts: 57 ✭✭
    I cannot get this to work. Have defined a function as value of a parameter as shown by @chadstoltzfus. Now I try to call it, but it is always shown as invalid.

    Function definition: pipe_width_at: function(x){return pipe_height_at_bottom-(pipe_width_at_bottom-pipe_width_at_top)*pos/soundpipe_length;}
    ^^This still seems to work! (All variables inside this definition are defined above, they are lengths in mm. Couldn't define the function as length, it was accepted when I chose "any" though.)

    Attempts to instantiate the function:
    #pipe_width_at(#soundpipe_length+#soundhole_length)
    #pipe_width_at(245mm)
    #pipe_width_at(245)


  • fstfst Member Posts: 57 ✭✭
    edited April 2023
    I think I found the answer: It is currently apparently not possible to reference other variables in function definitions.
    So this works:
    name: increment.  value: function(x){return x + 1};

    But this doesn't:
    name: startValue.  value: 42
    name offsetFromStartValue.    value: function(x){return startValue+x;)
    ^^these two can still be defined, but #offsetFromStartValue(2.0) will fail

    Thinking now about building a bigger (Featurescript)-feature that creates essentialy the entire part programmatically - might be easier.

    --- old posting ---

    I cannot get this to work. Have defined a function as value of a parameter as shown by @chadstoltzfus. Now I try to call it, but it is always shown as invalid.

    Function definition: pipe_width_at: function(x){return pipe_height_at_bottom-(pipe_width_at_bottom-pipe_width_at_top)*pos/soundpipe_length;}
    ^^This still seems to work! (All variables inside this definition are defined above, they are lengths in mm. Couldn't define the function as length, it was accepted when I chose "any" though.)

    Attempts to instantiate the function:
    #pipe_width_at(#soundpipe_length+#soundhole_length)
    #pipe_width_at(245mm)
    #pipe_width_at(245)
    ^^ None of these seem to work.
    Any ideas?

    Removed link - not sure why my postings are not published when I post links to my public documents? Might have helped to understand the problem...

  • chadstoltzfuschadstoltzfus Member, Developers, csevp Posts: 139 PRO
    @ferdinand_strixner
    To my knowledge there isn't a way to reference Part Studio variables inside the scope of the lambda function, though it's worth noting you can send a Part Studio variable as an argument to the function.  

    Ex: 
    name: startValue.  value: 42
    name offsetFromStartValue.    value: function(x, y){return y+x * in;)

    Invoke #offsetFromStartValue(2in, #startValue)
    Will return 44



    Though you're probably right, it's going to be much more scalable and easy to manage to just make a custom feature.
    Applications Developer at Premier Custom Built
    chadstoltzfus@premiercb.com
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