blocks - new features

[gswifort]

I want to add a few new functions to help with working with blocks:

• get_block_reference - create a block reference, the reference is added to the database (db.addObject(block_ref)), the user is responsible for adding it to the transaction and/or to the modelspace; returns Db.ObjectId[Db.BlockReference]
• add_block_definition - add a block from a dwg/dxf file to the database, if the name is given instead of the path, search for it in the search path, returns Db.ObjectId[Db.BlockTableRecord]
• get_block_by_name - if the block does not exist in the database, it tries to add it using add_block_definition, returns Db.ObjectId[Db.BlockTableRecord]

I already have prototypes of these functions for my own use, but I need to refine them a bit. Suggestions/thoughts/ideas for other functions are welcome.

[gswifort]

So it seems, as noted here, that creating a block reference with attributes is only possible by immediately assigning it an owner (BlockTableRecord). I thought that a way to create a reference "in memory" (it would be saved in the database anyway) could be to dynamically create a BTR and set it as the owner in the get_block_reference function, and then the user would just change the owner, e.g., to modelspace, but that doesn't work.