MAKE_NAME(nged)

💅 MAKE_NAME(nged) — bestie's guide to making unique names ✨

okay so welcome to make_name, a little command from the BRL-CAD User Commands fam that literally just makes you a unique object name, and honestly? it eats. 🎀

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

make_name template | -s [num]

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so here's the vibe: make_name generates a unique object name by substituting an auto-incrementing integer counter into the template string you hand it. the counter starts at 0 and increments every single time a name is generated. ✨

and before it ever returns a name to you, make_name verifies the name does not already exist in the database — and if it does, it just keeps incrementing the counter further until it finds an unused name. no cap, it checks. 👑

the template string uses the @ character as a placeholder, and that @ gets replaced by the current counter value:

• prefix@suffix — the @ is replaced by the current counter value. for example, part@.s might produce part0.s, part1.s, etc. 🍓
• name with no @ — if there's no @ present, the counter value is appended directly to the end of the template. simple as that 💅
• @@ — a literal @@ in the template is treated as an escaped @ and is passed through unchanged (it does not get replaced by the counter). iykyk 🧚

the counter is shared across all calls within the same session and persists until it's reset with -s. so like… it remembers. main character energy fr fr 💜

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✨ OPTIONS ✨

• -s [num] — set the internal counter to num. if num is omitted, the counter is reset to 0. 🎀

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🔥 EXAMPLES 🔥

Example 1. Generate unique names with a prefix template

mged> make_name part@.s mged> make_name part@.s mged> make_name part@.s

    part0.s
    part1.s
    part2.s

each call increments the internal counter, producing a new unique name. and if part0.s already existed in the database, the first call would return part1.s instead. see how that works? 😭✨

Example 2. Generate a name with no @ placeholder

mged> make_name widget

widget0

with no @ in the template, the counter is appended to the end of the string. periodt. 💅

Example 3. Reset the counter and restart numbering

mged> make_name part@.s mged> make_name -s 100 mged> make_name part@.s

    part3.s
    part100.s

after generating part3.s, the counter is set to 100 with -s 100. the next call then produces part100.s. iconic behaviour tbh 🌈

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👑 AUTHOR 👑

BRL-CAD Team — legends, honestly 🫶

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💀 BUG REPORTS 💀

reports of bugs or problems should be submitted via electronic mail to devs@brlcad.org. pls be nice to them 🙈

ngl if something's acting cursed, that's the address — don't just suffer in silence bestie 💖

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so yeah, that's make_name 💜 this page comes to you from BRL-CAD in the BRL-CAD User Commands collection — MAKE_NAME(nged), mwah, go make some names that don't collide 🎀✨🦋