yang686526

new api user
i'm using soliworks since 2005, ater 3 years i decided to learn api. cause it will help me so much in my work.
the problem is i want to take programming language course. as the only programming language i know is matlab which will not help not this issue.
-i want to know what is the easiest programming language course to use?
-is solidworks api works with .net languages or not?
i thought of buying
your best bet is online tutorials for vba, and a really good book will be c# for beginners i believe it is called on amazon. it takes you from concept to programming covering anything and everything. i started with this book about 6-7 years ago.
will i do more with c that i can't do with vba?
cause i think that vba is more easy
mohamed abdel moniem | mechanical engineer
cswp, cswa, cswp core, cswp-smtl
solidworks 2009 sp3.0
vista x64 sp1.0
intel q6600, 8gb ram
ati hd 4850
3dconnexions spacenavigator
i have been finding visual basic fairly easy to use, plus vb6 and vba that comes with solidworks are almost the same so you don't have to learn two separate languages. one book that i reference a lot is "visual basic 6 complete" by steve brown and the reason i like it is because there is one section that is more like a reference section that you can look up a command and it gives a short explanation of what it does and how to use it. it is $2 for used ones and looks like $4 for new ones on amazon.
i am like most of the people that respond to api threads in that i am self-taught. i started out with vb5. i looked at c++ but it was too dificult for me to pickup by just reading books and looking at code. i moved to vb6 when it became available. i recently moved to vb.net and find it almost as easy to learn as vb5 & 6 or vba. i have played with c#.net and find it much easier than c++, but feel most comfortable with vba and vb.net.with vb.net i can still use the solidworks macro recorder and copy and paste from vba to vb.net. there are a few things that i have to change, but for the most part it is copy and paste.
i would be a little afraid to learn vb6 today because of it's future. pdmworks enterprise 2008 does not support vb6 for creating add-ins and i am afraid that solidworks will be the same way in the future.
i agree with luke, i do like the worx books, but "beginning visual basic 2005".
this is just my opinion and cannot argue with what others are saying.
wayne matus
texas engineering systems
well 99% of my skills are self taught, but when you first want to learn programming "concepts" a book always gives you a head start. i think once you understand the concepts of computer programming, the languages are just like learning to drive new cars; you don't need to take your test again you just need to learn the differences with the new car.
your best bet is get a book, skin through it and any questions you have post here or on
i do agree that whichever programming you learn you will eventually end up using one of the .net programs. i started using vb.net a couple months ago but most of what i write is still using the vba that comes with solidworks because it is on every machine at work. when someone gets an error in a program i can debug it on his or her machine without trying to recreate the problem on my computer. i like the book i recommended because it has sections on different functions and vb6 is closest to vba. if you want to find the length of a string you can look in the string section and find what you want fairly fast.
the one .net book i have is not very well done and i have ordered a couple more, so i can't make a recommendation on .net books.
dan miel
ps: the first programs i wrote were in ms gw basic ver2 and for the ti94a (mid 80s).
edited: 05/18/2008 at 05:23 pm by dan miel
no matter which way you go on the long road, the first step is learn vba. there is so much free learning material. plus, most of the chatter on sw api groups is in vb.
first get comfortable with object-oriented programming and are familiar with how excel and sw objects behave in vba/vb6/vb.net. then you will be in a better position to decide if you want to learn c.
thank you all for help.
so non of them has any advantage over the others one from the powerful programming or computability with solidworks point of view. if that so i'll use vba or vba6!
mohamed abdel moniem | mechanical engineer
cswp, cswa, cswp core, cswp-smtl
solidworks 2009 sp3.0
vista x64 sp1.0
intel q6600, 8gb ram
ati hd 4850
3dconnexions spacenavigator
well you'll probably find vba (and vb6) to be the easiest to learn. then if you need to make standalone programs you can pick up vb.net and 99% of what you know from vba will apply to vb.net
vba has no were need the same power as .net so i would recommend starting with vb.net or c#