AutoCADet: A person who uses AutoCAD directly or indirectly to create or analyze graphic images and is in possession of one or more of the following traits: wants to learn; has an interest in improving the way AutoCAD works; is a visionary AutoCAD user; is willing to try new approaches to solving problems; or just loves to play with computers.

With Visual LISP, AutoCADets can expand AutoCAD into new realms and create expert commands that enhance the productivity and quality of their work.

This book provides a general introduction to Visual LISP. In each chapter, you learn several concepts regarding a specific aspect of the language and then follow examples to reinforce those concepts. The examples are taken from real working applications. The idea is to teach you how to develop utilities that you can then use to create more complex programs. LISP is a building-block language in that you construct blocks of working code and then use them to build even more.

You do not have to be a programmer to understand this book. However, if you do know another computer language, some of the material will be familiar. In either case, list processing and the techniques for manipulating lists of data will probably be new topics. I recommend that you take your time reading each section and grasping the concepts. For more details, use AutoCAD's online help system, which provides even more examples.

The book begins with an introduction to the language and the environment. Then you dig...