To give you a taste of the joy of working with $$.ArrayAs2D, here is a randomly written example of perfectly valid code:

 
// Given `myPathPoint` a valid PathPoint instance.
var A = myPathPoint.anchor;
 
// Some points...
var P = A + [3,5];
var Q = -P + A + [7,8]/3;
 
// ...or vectors
var U = 1.25 * (A - myPathPoint.leftDirection);
var V = Q + (myPathPoint.rightDirection - A);
 
if( U > 3 ) // if |U| is greater than 3...
   V += U;
else
   V *= 4;
 
 

Whenever an Array happens to have two numeric coordinates x,y, it automatically benefits from so-called overloaded operators which give meaning to addition or subtraction, multiplication or division by a scalar, and so on.

Natively, JavaScript won't be able to interpret the code [3,2] + 5*[6,7], but with ExtendScript we can make it fully functional. The gain is considerable: no intermediate variables, no separate calculations “along x” and “along y” to finally reconcile coordinates in a new object.

If your project involves fairly complex vector operations, condensing the fundamental calculations is a game changer. With $$.ArrayAs2D, not only can you sum or multiply points and/or vectors directly, but many other shortcuts are available:

   • +[3,4] returns the norm of the vector (i.e. 5.)

   • The distance between two points P and Q is simply written P|Q.

   • If you want to save the square root, you can also write P^Q to get the square of the distance.

   • U>>V — read “U to V” — yields the (signed) angle between these two vectors.

Note. — But if the second operand is a number α, then U>>α rotates the vector U by α radians; example: [2,3]>>Math.PI.

   • 1/U returns the normalized vector U/|U|, so we have the equality 1 == +(1/U).

   • Point (or vector) equality is also testable (U==V), relying on your own machine-epsilon, if the default is not suitable.

All you have to do is #include this small module (very light weight) in your IdExtenso script. It can be activated or deactivated on demand. Read its detailed instructions and enter a new… dimension!

→ ArrayAs2D module (IdExtenso)

→ See also “Operator Overloading with ExtendScript”