Let me share with you a couple of simple things that could make your life a bit easier if you use Microsoft Visual Studio for development on Open CASCADE.
1. Highlighting Open CASCADE class names in the editor
This will improve your code readability and what is more important, can serve as additional quick check whether you correctly spell a OCC class name before you get a compiler error ;-).
What you just need to do is to copy the file UserType.dat shipped with Open CASCADE (tools subdirectory) it to where devenv.exe is located. For instance, on my laptop it’s here - c:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\IDE\. If you already have some UserType.dat, just concatenate the contents.
2. More convenient display of Open CASCADE data types in debugger
Have you even been tired of clicking in a deep nested tree in the Watcher window to dig down from your surface just to check its reference count ? If yes, this can be for you.
As you might know, the debugger allows you to display complex types (e.g. classes) not only as default ‘{…}’. To do that you can describe display rules, modifying the autoexp.dat file.
I have found and extended one with a few frequently used OCC types. Go download it here and insert into autoexp.dat, located inside Visual Studio hierarchy. For instance, for VS2005 it is here - c:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\Packages\Debugger\Autoexp.dat.
Compare these two screenshots. The one below (with modified autoexp.dat) displays everything what one above does but in a more concise form without forcing you to expand the tree.
OCC team: feel free to include this file or its extended version into Open CASCADE release ;-).
There is yet another functionality – skipping stepping into a function in the Debugger, so that when you click F11, it bypasses some internal functions you don’t want to spend your time in. This is an undocumented technique described here. I did not try it but you may want to. If you are a success, please share your settings with us, this will likely be helpful for several people.
There are likely more than that. If anyone is willing to share his/her experience, please send me an email at roman.lygin@gmail.com and I can post it.
1. Highlighting Open CASCADE class names in the editor
This will improve your code readability and what is more important, can serve as additional quick check whether you correctly spell a OCC class name before you get a compiler error ;-).
What you just need to do is to copy the file UserType.dat shipped with Open CASCADE (tools subdirectory) it to where devenv.exe is located. For instance, on my laptop it’s here - c:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\IDE\. If you already have some UserType.dat, just concatenate the contents.
2. More convenient display of Open CASCADE data types in debugger
Have you even been tired of clicking in a deep nested tree in the Watcher window to dig down from your surface just to check its reference count ? If yes, this can be for you.
As you might know, the debugger allows you to display complex types (e.g. classes) not only as default ‘{…}’. To do that you can describe display rules, modifying the autoexp.dat file.
I have found and extended one with a few frequently used OCC types. Go download it here and insert into autoexp.dat, located inside Visual Studio hierarchy. For instance, for VS2005 it is here - c:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\Packages\Debugger\Autoexp.dat.
Compare these two screenshots. The one below (with modified autoexp.dat) displays everything what one above does but in a more concise form without forcing you to expand the tree.
OCC team: feel free to include this file or its extended version into Open CASCADE release ;-).
There is yet another functionality – skipping stepping into a function in the Debugger, so that when you click F11, it bypasses some internal functions you don’t want to spend your time in. This is an undocumented technique described here. I did not try it but you may want to. If you are a success, please share your settings with us, this will likely be helpful for several people.
There are likely more than that. If anyone is willing to share his/her experience, please send me an email at roman.lygin@gmail.com and I can post it.