Sample-4

Rhino Inside Node.js

The Rhino Inside® technology allows Rhino and Grasshopper to be embedded within other products.

Sample 4

This sample shows how to run Rhino from Electron. This sample extends Sample 1, 2, and 3 by using Electron for UI. Geometry rendered with three.js. The sample has been tested on Windows 10, Rhino 7 WIP, and Node.js 8.11.12 (though should work on more recent versions of Node.js)

There are three projects in this sample:

• InsideElectron - Compiles to a .net framework class library with two classes and several methods. This class contains the code to start Rhino and Grasshopper, as well as a custom TaskScheduler.
• TestInsideElectron - A small project to test the TaskScheduler class to control Rhino.
• InsideElectronApp - The Electron app that provides a GUI and launches Rhino and Grasshopper from JavaScript.

Dependencies

• Rhino 7 WIP (Required install)
• Node.js (8.11.2 or newer) (Required install)
• edge.js (^11.3.1) (Referenced via npm)
• Electron.js (Referenced via npm)
• Json.NET (Referenced via the NuGet package)
• rhino3dm.js (Referenced via URL)
• three.js (Referenced via URL)

Running this sample

This assumes you've already installed Rhino 7 WIP and Node.js for Windows, and have cloned the Rhino.Inside repository.

1. Open the InsideElectron.sln in Visual Studio and build the solution. This builds the .dll which is referenced in the Electron app. Note: You might need to Clean dna Rebuild the InsideElectron.csproj to get NuGet to restore the Json.Net package.
2. Open a console from the InsideElectronApp directory.
3. Run npm install to install any dependencies.
4. Run npm start to run the sample. You should see the Electron window appear, followed by the Grasshopper editor.
5. In the Grasshopper editor, add a Mesh > Primitive > MeshSphere component to the Grasshopper Canvas. You should see someting like this: As you continue to develop the definition, the rendered geometry will update to reflect what you have defined in the Grasshopper canvas: