HMath-5003: HyperMesh-HyperMath Cross Execution of a Tcl Script

HyperMath can be used as a powerful Tcl script editor. In addition to leveraging the capabilities of the HyperMath editor, it offers specific advantages to bridge between HyperMath and the HyperMesh Tcl interpreter. These include:

•	Graphical interaction between HyperMesh and HyperMath

•	Auto-completion for HyperMesh APIs

•	Shortcut for direct access to the APIs help topics

This tutorial demonstrates how to use HyperMath as an editor during HyperMesh Tcl script development and execution.

Step 1: HyperMesh Desktop – Load the model

1.	From the Start menu, select All Programs > Altair HyperWorks (version number) > HyperMesh Desktop.

2.	From the menu bar, click File > Open > Model.

3.	From the Open Model dialogue, open the radius.hm model file, located in the hmath folder. The model appears in the graphics area:

Step 2: Invoke HyperMath in HyperWorks Desktop

1.	From HyperMesh Desktop menu bar, click View > Toolbars > HyperWorks > Scripting to display the scripting toolbar.

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2.	Click New Tcl/Tk script, , to create a new Tcl script. This will invoke HyperMath’s Tcl Editor:

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Note	The Scripting toolbar also exposes two other ways to invoke HyperMath:

•	Open Tcl/Tk Script prompts you to choose and open an existing Tcl script. The script can then be executed in HyperMath, interacting with HyperMesh.

•	Debug Tcl/Tk Script allows you to run a Tcl script on a debug model (step by step, breakpoints, watch window). This is described in tutorial Hmath-5004. Also, please see Hmath-1020 for more details about debugging in the HyperMath environment.

Step 3: Using the HyperMath Tcl editor

1.	Load the script radius.tcl or type the commands shown below in the Tcl editor. This script requires you to choose a line in HyperMesh model. The diameter is computed and the radius of hole is defined by the selected line. A Tk message box displays the results.

catch {namespace delete ::hml5003_tcldemo}

namespace eval ::hml5003_tcldemo {}

proc ::hml5003_tcldemo::main {} {

*createmarkpanel lines 1 "please select the line"

set a [hm_getmark lines 1]

set b [llength $a]

if {$b == 1} {

*createmark lines 1 $a

*nodecreateonlines lines 1 3 0 0

*createmark nodes 1 -1 -2

set c [hm_getmark nodes 1]

set d1_x [hm_getentityvalue nodes [lindex $c 0] "x" 0]

set d1_y [hm_getentityvalue nodes [lindex $c 0] "y" 0]

set d1_z [hm_getentityvalue nodes [lindex $c 0] "z" 0]

set d2_x [hm_getentityvalue nodes [lindex $c 1] "x" 0]

set d2_y [hm_getentityvalue nodes [lindex $c 1] "y" 0]

set d2_z [hm_getentityvalue nodes [lindex $c 1] "z" 0]

set d_x [expr $d1_x - $d2_x]

set d_y [expr $d1_y - $d2_y]

set d_z [expr $d1_z - $d2_z]

set d [expr sqrt( pow($d_x,2) + pow($d_y,2) + pow($d_z,2))]

set e [expr $d/2]

tk_messageBox -message "Diameter = $d & Radius = $e " -type ok

*nodecleartempmark

} else {

tk_messageBox -message "Only one line must be selected" -type ok

}

::hml5003_tcldemo::main

Note	The HyperMath Tcl editor supports auto-completion for HyperMesh APIs.

For *createmarkpanel, for example, just type *c in the Tcl editor and a list is returned containing all HyperMesh APIs starting with *c characters. In addition, pressing F1 (Help on Selection) on an API displays the help page for this API in an HTML browser.

2.	Click Run File to evaluate the script. In the HyperMesh Desktop window, select a line:

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3.	Choose any hole in the model. The following Tk is displayed, with the diameter and radius of the selected hole.

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4.	If the Tcl script is successful and you want save it, click File > Save or press the Save File icon,.

5.	To easily reuse this script in the HyperMesh Desktop Tcl console, copy the full path by right-clicking the tab in the editor window and selecting Copy Full Path from the context-sensitive menu.

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HMath-5003: HyperMesh-HyperMath Cross Execution of a Tcl Script

HMath-5003: HyperMesh-HyperMath Cross Execution of a Tcl Script

HMath-5003: HyperMesh-HyperMath Cross Execution of a Tcl Script

See Also