E301 - INTRODUCTION TO GDL PROGRAMMING - PART I

About this course

The course "E301 – Introduction to GDL Programming – Part I" introduces the GDL language in which Archicad objects are programmed. Over two practical sessions, students will get to know the GDL editor, the basic syntax of the language and the fundamental commands for building 2D and 3D objects. By the end of the unit they will have created their first parametric object and restricted its values from the parameter script.

Course details

This course is aimed at Archicad users who wish to create their own library objects and understand how the parametric objects they use daily work internally. No prior programming experience is required. The first session presents the concept of a parametric object, the .gsm and .lcf formats, the library types, the support resources (the GDL reference guide and GDL Center) and the interface of the GDL editor. It then explains programming concepts (commands, variables, parameters, operators, syntax rules, comments and script checking) and practises basic 2D shapes (line2, rect2, poly2), pen, line type and fill attributes, and the frame_fill value. The second session continues with hotspots, basic and complex 3D shapes (block, cilind, sphere, prism_ and status codes), surface and pen attributes, the add, rot, mul and del transformations relative to the local origin, a workflow for building a table piece by piece, and the creation and restriction of custom parameters using values and range. The course assumes general knowledge of Archicad and the management of embedded and linked libraries, covered in previous modules. The GDL reference guide, available from Archicad's help menu, is used as reference material throughout the unit.

Learning goals

• Understand what a parametric object is in Archicad and what the GDL language allows you to do.
• Identify the parts of the GDL editor: details and parameters tabs, script windows and views.
• Apply the basic GDL syntax rules: commands with comma-separated parameters, comments and script checking.
• Draw basic 2D shapes with line2, rect2 and poly2 and assign them pen, line type and fill.
• Build basic 3D shapes with block, cilind, sphere and prism_ and apply surfaces to them.
• Use the add, rot, mul and del transformations to position each piece of the object relative to the origin.
• Define custom parameters in the parameters tab and use them as variables in the 3D script.
• Restrict a parameter's values using values and range in the parameter script.

Curriculum