On 08/18/2011 07:24 PM, Henry Baker wrote:
... I haven't studied CAD/CAM languages recently, but the ones from 10+ years ago were pretty uninspiring. Perhaps an artist/mathematician _without any "computer language" skills_ will show us how to do it better. We need some "direct manipulation" ideas for how to describe objects which are very different from the traditional computer language ideas. It's worth making a strong distinction between CAD and CAM.
CAD languages based on Constructive Solid Geometry _do_ describe the shape of an object in fairly rigorous, tractable ways. But they say absolutely nothing about how to make the object. CAM languages such as G-code (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-code) describe how to make the object by moving a (subtractive) tool through space occupied by raw material. It's basically connect-the-dots, but with an eraser. Going from one to the other is roughly like compilation.