11:49 <dTal> Is there a pattern for expressing a set of variables that are constrained with respect to each other, but without specifying which variables are "master" and which are "slave"?

11:51 <dTal> I guess it's not really possible without an algebraic solver, which implies a symbolic rewriting system

11:55 <pa> somehow doing $foo = bar gives me an error Ignoring unknown variable 'bar'

11:55 <pa> (defined just above)

11:57 <dTal> pa, paste code?

11:57 <dTal> triple check you didn't misspell?

11:59 <pa> dTal: http://paste.debian.net/hidden/5009cb61/

12:00 <pa> if i punch in an int, everything works as expected

12:01 <pa> version 2019.05

12:03 <dTal> it works as expected on 2021.01

12:03 <dTal> I don't have 2019.05 to test it on

12:03 <pa> let me try to add the new repo

12:03 <pa> and upgrade

12:04 <dTal> Why do you have a dollar sign in front of "palletLengthAdjustment" by the way?

12:05 <pa> dTal: because it's a $variable

12:08 <dTal> I just downloaded 2019.05 and it also works fine

12:08 <dTal> are you sure your paste matches the failing code?

12:09 <dTal> I'm guessing the variable isn't actually called "foo"

12:10 <pa> it is

12:10 <pa> but ofc $palletLengthAdjustment is defined in an included .scad

12:11 <dTal> and your paste says "error on line 30" on a 3 line file

12:12 <pa> correct, i did paste only the offending part

12:12 <dTal> I suspect if you put your own paste back into your local openscad, it would work fine as well

12:12 <pa> let me try

12:13 <dTal> you need to whittle the issue down to something standalone, whereupon it will either go away (and therefore give you a hint as to where the problem is) or at least allow others to replicate it

12:13 <pa> dTal: http://paste.debian.net/hidden/65b376ee/

12:14 <dTal> ...I don't have any of those files.

12:15 <dTal> and the files are clearly where the problem is.

12:15 <pa> ok but then why if i replace $palletLengthAdjustment = foo; with $palletLengthAdjustment = 10; things work?

12:16 <dTal> it is weird, but there's no way for anyone else to understand what's going on without pasting the rest of the code

12:16 <pa> maybe i can't ssign variables to $variables?

12:16 <dTal> I never use $variables and I don't understand what they're for

12:16 <pa> gotcha, thansk

12:20 <dTal> does it work if you change "foo" to something else?

12:21 <dTal> it is very strange that you can echo it but not use it in an assignment, that suggests that echo and assignments use different scoping rules which I would not expect

12:24 <pa> dTal: it works if i change with an int literal

12:25 <pa> i am looking at https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/OpenSCAD_User_Manual/Other_Language_Features#Special_variables and special variables are never assigned a variable

12:25 <pa> i suppose this won't work, as they are defined at compile time

12:25 <pa> well ok, i can live with that

12:36 <dTal> confusing error message

14:53 <InPhase> pa: You can assign a variable to special variables.

14:53 <InPhase> pa: I cannot reproduce your error and do not understand what it's coming from, and no example had this on line 10 yet.

14:55 <InPhase> Oh, 8. Well there might be some syntax error in the preceding includes that disrupt this. Or perhaps you have another error with the included content that changes the meaning of foo somehow.

14:57 <InPhase> pa: Or, perhaps in something not shown you are doing a use <model_pallet_core_adaptive.scad>?

14:57 <InPhase> pa: Prior to 2021 there was a bug in the processing of special variables during use<> which will produce this sort of error.

15:02 <InPhase> (Under certain conditions.)

15:27 <gbruno> [github] t-paul pushed 1 modifications (Merge pull request #4234 from MichaelPFrey/2022-04-19-skylab gradient background needs GL_MODELVIEW) https://github.com/openscad/openscad/commit/eb2849ea946e823bd37f3444ec0bf6bb80c57c67

18:49 <J22> dTal here why $var are usefull https://bpa.st/WHFA

18:50 <joseph_> teepee InPhase: Would you like me to work on more fixes as part of the pre-GSoC evaluation? It will soon be close to my final exams, so if there's something else you'd like to see from me before the end-of-semester then I will need to budget my time carefully

18:52 <J22> normal var are not available in children, which is a bit strange as children should be the same tree  so within the same scope

18:57 <InPhase> joseph_: We've seen enough there to meet the established technical threshold of being able to commit a fix and go through all the requisite steps for that successfully.

18:59 <InPhase> joseph_: If you end up with free time you're free to pick out something else interesting to poke at, or you could think about or discuss more background info for the project. As a more senior person who thinks broad spectrum mentoring is very important, I will encourage you to put all needed attention toward the exams to excel at them, and to not attempt to burn out during the lead up to exams. GSoC

18:59 <InPhase> is scheduled to happen after them for this purpose.

19:00 <InPhase> joseph_: I had semesters where my exams really required a lot more attention, and some where I was already overprepared and I had some slack time before them. But that's a perfectly reasonable priority during that phase, and we sure won't hold that against you. It's part of the design. :)

22:12 <joseph_> InPhase: Thanks, I have two classes where the final exams are weighted heavily. I'll prioritize studying and check back in after the semester has finished. I'll try to monitor IRC, but if you need to ping me then I'm most likely to see an email (address is in my GSoC application)

23:08 <InPhase> joseph_: Sounds good. :)