Astoundingly ignorant question

[TickleMeElmo]

What is ObjectARX?   lol let me refine that...

I've done a bit of VBA, lots of vb6 and lots of vb.net.....Recently I had my first play with ObjectDBX for extracting XData from a batch of drawings and was highly impressed with the speed it ran.  Here's where I get a bit murky.....is ObjectARX a successor to ObjectDBX, or just .net replacement of the COM references for ActiveX development?  i.e. can ObjectARX be used like ObjectDBX to access drawings without actually "opening" them into AutoCAD.

Hopefully someone somewhere can make sense of my ill-formed question.....

[adam.nagy · Accepted solution]

Hi,

You could have a look at http://autodesk.com/objectarx

ObjectARX is a superset of ObjectDBX, which provides access to the contents of a drawing database and also allows you to extend its functionality, e.g. create you own custom object/entity.

The RealDWG software development kit (http://autodesk.com/realdwg) that enables you to use ObjectDBX technology inside your own application without having to install any other Autodesk software on the given system also used to be called ObjectDBX many years ago. 

I hope this helps.

Cheers,

Adam Nagy

Autodesk Developer Network

[TickleMeElmo]

This is hugely helpful thanks Adam.  Boo to ObjectDBX, Yay to ObjectARX is my simplistic take on things.  If you listen closely you will hear the sound of cunning plans hatching......

Are Autodesk my favourite software developers on the planet?  Well, no, not if they're compared with Bethesda Softworks but they're getting up there   🙂

[StephenPreston]

Just to add some confusion ...

I think Adam misunderstood your reference to ObjectDBX. We renamed the ObjectDBX Adam was referring to to RealDWG because we had several APIs all called ObjectDBX. I believe the ObjectDBX you're referring to is the ActiveX Type Library installed with AutoCAD and some other Autodesk products  that allows you to access the DWG database (and not the AcadApplication). Generically, we used to refer to all our 'DWG access only APIs' as ObjectDBX - which always ended up in really long and confusing conversations when someone asked 'what is ObjectDBX' ).

Anyway, what Adam says about ObjectARX is correct. If you're looking for a Friday afternoon displacement activity, I like Fenton Webb's overview and history of AutoCAD APIs in his AU 2009 handout for his 'Right Tools for the Job' class. You can download the handout from here if you have an AU Online account - http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=class&session_id=5052. (Unfortunately, the sound is missing from the screencast on the same page).

And to answer an obvious follow-on question - the AutoCAD .NET API (sometimes called the Managed ObjectARX API) is built on top of the (unmanaged C++) ObjectARX API. If you're coming from a VB/VBA background, the .NET API will be much easier to pick up - and is (to all intents and purposes) just as powerful.

BTW What do we have to do to beat Bethesda Softworks?

[TickleMeElmo]

Thanks for the info Stephen.  My ObjectARX baby steps have begun - 'Drawing_with_one_million_circles.dwg' likely won't have any actual use but it was a fun exercise to "ooh" and  "ahhh" at ObjectARX speed.

Actually, Bethesda vs Autodesk joking aside I reckon Autodesk is looking pretty shiney the last few years.  I sit at home playing on my iPad and stumble on apps like TimeFX, SketchBook Pro (fantastic, love it), Free IPM viewer......I happen on your CEO (forget his name) giving an interview on 2.5D....I played with the Beta of Plant3D, had a few plays with photofly etc etc etc.  There's many directions Autodesk is moving but my point is that the overall impression I get is of a company which is evolving and has a plan.  Kudos to your strategic planning team.