http://extensiblecad.com/words SolidWorks and PDMWorks Enterprise Development Blog Mon, 28 Jul 2008 20:38:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en API development and customization is all about automating repetitive tasks and I am sometimes amazed at how much I have been able to do over the years to make end users’ daily tasks easier to accomplish.  One place I have fallen short, however, is automating my own repetitive development tasks.  ... http://extensiblecad.com/words/2008/07/17/a-free-template-for-creating-pdmworks-enterprise-addins-its-automagically-delicious/ Over the past few months I have received numerous emails from folks using the original PDMWE Number Generator.  It is such a simple little app that I was pleasantly surprised at all of the nice feedback people gave me regarding it.  To show my appreciation, I have modified the Number ... http://extensiblecad.com/words/2008/07/09/pdmwe-number-generator-part-deaux/ One of the nice things about not being employed by Microsoft is that I need not live in fear of receiving an email like this from Bill Gates.  This email from Bill Gates to the people responsible for Windows is worth a read if you have time.  It is a nice little ... http://extensiblecad.com/words/2008/06/27/bill-eats-his-own-dog-foodand-bites-when-it-tastes-bad/ A year or two ago I read a book that changed the game for me.  The book was called .NET Gotchas and it made me about  10x more effective as a developer.  The book details 75 common pitfalls with .NET development and explains how to avoid them.  I was knee-deep ... http://extensiblecad.com/words/2008/06/18/who-mepdmworks-enterprise-api-development-gotchas-with-net/   Writing Add-ins in SolidWorks can be tricky stuff as it involves class libraries, COM, interfaces, etc...  It can be argued whether it is easier or harder in .NET (ease of use of .NET versus pain in the rear of COM Interop) but your good friends at SolidWorks set out to ... http://extensiblecad.com/words/2008/06/12/setting-up-and-troubleshooting-your-solidworks-add-in-development-environment-take-off-eh/