I also always wondered if there was really a use for a lot of primitives. Mind you, I only very recently got interested in part authoring and the workings behind LDraw. The previous years I was a user and nothing more than that.
I do understand the logic behind primitives like studs, common joints etc. etc. Because, first off, they're common and secondly (as far as I know), they are also used for automatic part snapping/connection in software like SR3D Builder or LDCad.
But, primiteves like boxes and things like that are (in my eyes) not that useful. They may save the author maybe a 10 minutes or so of work. And, if you still want the time saving, you can also just inline the primitive.
Especially the primitives based on primitives I find quite strange... For example, there are primitives for a bunch of stud configurations, like 1x4, 1x6, 1x8. They literally just contain the stud primitive 4, 6 or 8 times. It's nothing more than that.
Again, I'm still quite new to all of this. But, that might also be useful. I'm maybe looking at it from a different perspective than the veterans here
I do understand the logic behind primitives like studs, common joints etc. etc. Because, first off, they're common and secondly (as far as I know), they are also used for automatic part snapping/connection in software like SR3D Builder or LDCad.
But, primiteves like boxes and things like that are (in my eyes) not that useful. They may save the author maybe a 10 minutes or so of work. And, if you still want the time saving, you can also just inline the primitive.
Especially the primitives based on primitives I find quite strange... For example, there are primitives for a bunch of stud configurations, like 1x4, 1x6, 1x8. They literally just contain the stud primitive 4, 6 or 8 times. It's nothing more than that.
Again, I'm still quite new to all of this. But, that might also be useful. I'm maybe looking at it from a different perspective than the veterans here