SimpleWSMObject Class Reference

This reference page is linked to from the following overview topics: World Space Modifier Plug-in Overview.

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Detailed Description

See also:

Class WSMObject, Class IParamBlock, Class Mesh, Class Interval.

Description:

This is the base class for creating space warp objects. This class implements many of the methods required to create a space warp object. The only limitation for a space warp object using SimpleWSMObject as a base class is that it must represent itself with a mesh.

Data Members:

Note: Methods of the base class refer to these data members. For example the base class implementations of the bounding box methods use the mesh data member. Therefore the plug-in derived from SimpleWSMObject must use these same data members. These are listed below:

IParamBlock *pblock;

Pointer to a parameter block. Clients of SimpleWSMObject should use this pointer when the pblock reference is created.

Mesh mesh;

The mesh object that is built by BuildMesh().

Interval ivalid;

The validity interval of the mesh.
Space warp object plug-ins which subclass off SimpleWSMObject must implement these methods. The default implementations are noted.

#include <simpobj.h>

Inheritance diagram for SimpleWSMObject:

List of all members.

Public Member Functions
CoreExport	SimpleWSMObject ()
CoreExport	~SimpleWSMObject ()
CoreExport void	UpdateMesh (TimeValue t)
CoreExport void	GetBBox (TimeValue t, Matrix3 &tm, Box3 &box)
void	MeshInvalid ()
CoreExport void	BeginEditParams (IObjParam *ip, ULONG flags, Animatable *prev)
CoreExport void	EndEditParams (IObjParam *ip, ULONG flags, Animatable *next)
CoreExport int	HitTest (TimeValue t, INode *inode, int type, int crossing, int flags, IPoint2 *p, ViewExp *vpt)
	This method is called to determine if the specified screen point intersects the item.
CoreExport void	Snap (TimeValue t, INode *inode, SnapInfo *snap, IPoint2 *p, ViewExp *vpt)
	Checks the point passed for a snap and updates the SnapInfo structure.
CoreExport int	Display (TimeValue t, INode *inode, ViewExp *vpt, int flags)
	This is called by the system to have the item display itself (perform a quick render in viewport, using the current TM).
CoreExport IParamArray *	GetParamBlock ()
	An object or modifier should implement this method if it wishes to make its parameter block available for other plug-ins to access it.
CoreExport int	GetParamBlockIndex (int id)
	If a plug-in makes its parameter block available (using GetParamBlock()) then it will need to provide #defines for indices into the parameter block.
int	DoOwnSelectHilite ()
	If an object wants to draw itself in the 3D viewports in its selected state in some custom manner this method should return nonzero.
CoreExport ObjectState	Eval (TimeValue time)
	This method is called to evaluate the object and return the result as an ObjectState.
void	InitNodeName (MSTR &s)
	This is the default name of the node when it is created.
CoreExport Interval	ObjectValidity (TimeValue t)
	This method returns the validity interval of the object as a whole at the specified time.
CoreExport void	GetWorldBoundBox (TimeValue t, INode *inode, ViewExp *vpt, Box3 &box)
	This method returns the world space bounding box for Objects (see below for the Sub-object gizmo or Modifiers gizmo version).
CoreExport void	GetLocalBoundBox (TimeValue t, INode *inode, ViewExp *vpt, Box3 &box)
	This is the object space bounding box, the box in the object's local coordinates.
CoreExport void	GetDeformBBox (TimeValue t, Box3 &box, Matrix3 *tm, BOOL useSel)
	This method computes the bounding box in the objects local coordinates or the optional space defined by tm.
int	IsRenderable ()
	Indicates whether the object may be rendered.
CoreExport void	FreeCaches ()
void	GetClassName (MSTR &s)
	Retrieves the name of the plugin class.
int	NumSubs ()
Animatable *	SubAnim (int i)
CoreExport MSTR	SubAnimName (int i)
int	NumRefs ()
	Returns the total number of references this ReferenceMaker can hold.
RefTargetHandle	GetReference (int i)
	Returns the 'i-th' reference.
CoreExport RefResult	NotifyRefChanged (Interval changeInt, RefTargetHandle hTarget, PartID &partID, RefMessage message)
	Receives and responds to messages.
virtual void	BuildMesh (TimeValue t)=0
virtual BOOL	OKtoDisplay (TimeValue t)
virtual void	InvalidateUI ()
virtual ParamDimension *	GetParameterDim (int pbIndex)
virtual MSTR	GetParameterName (int pbIndex)
Public Attributes
IParamBlock *	pblock
Mesh	mesh
Interval	ivalid
Static Public Attributes
static SimpleWSMObject *	editOb
Protected Member Functions
virtual void	SetReference (int i, RefTargetHandle rtarg)
	Stores a ReferenceTarget as its 'i-th' reference`.

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Constructor & Destructor Documentation

CoreExport SimpleWSMObject

(

)

CoreExport ~SimpleWSMObject

(

)

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Member Function Documentation

CoreExport void UpdateMesh

(

TimeValue

t

)

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CoreExport void GetBBox	(	TimeValue	t,
		Matrix3 &	tm,
		Box3 &	box
	)

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void MeshInvalid

(

)

[inline]

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{ivalid.SetEmpty();}

CoreExport void BeginEditParams	(	IObjParam *	ip,
		ULONG	flags,
		Animatable *	prev
	)		[virtual]

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Remarks:

This method is called by the system when the user may edit the item's (object, modifier, controller, etc.) parameters.

Parameters:

ip	Interface pointer. The developer can use it to call methods such as AddRollupPage(). Note that this pointer is only valid between BeginEditParams() and EndEditParams(). It should not be used outside this interval.
flags	Describe which branch of the command panel or dialog the item is being edited in. The following are possible values: BEGIN_EDIT_CREATE Indicates an item is being edited in the create branch. BEGIN_EDIT_MOTION Indicates a controller is being edited in the motion branch. BEGIN_EDIT_HIERARCHY Indicates a controller is being edited in the Pivot subtask of the hierarchy branch. BEGIN_EDIT_IK Indicates a controller is being edited in the IK subtask of the hierarchy branch. BEGIN_EDIT_LINKINFO Indicates a controller is being edited in the Link Info subtask of the hierarchy branch.
prev	Pointer to an Animatable object. This parameter may be used in the motion and hierarchy branches of the command panel. This pointer allows a plug-in to look at the ClassID of the previous item that was being edited, and if it is the same as this item, to not replace the entire UI in the command panel, but simply update the values displayed in the UI fields. This prevents the UI from 'flickering' when the current item begins its edit. For example, if you are in the motion branch and are looking at an item's PRS controller values, and then select another item that is displayed with a PRS controller, the UI will not change - only the values displayed in the fields will change. If however you selected a target camera that has a lookat controller (not a PRS controller) the UI will change because a different set of parameters need to be displayed. Note that for items that are edited in the modifier branch this field can be ignored.

Reimplemented from Animatable.

Reimplemented in SimpleOSMToWSMObject.

CoreExport void EndEditParams	(	IObjParam *	ip,
		ULONG	flags,
		Animatable *	next
	)		[virtual]

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Remarks:

This method is called when the user is finished editing an objects parameters. The system passes a flag into the EndEditParams() method to indicate if the rollup page should be removed. If this flag is TRUE, the plug-in must un-register the rollup page, and delete it from the panel.

Parameters:

ip	An interface pointer. The developer may use the interface pointer to call methods such as DeleteRollupPage().
flags	The following flag may be set: END_EDIT_REMOVEUI If TRUE, the item's user interface should be removed.
next	Animatable pointer. Can be used in the motion and hierarchy branches of the command panel. It allows a plug-in to look at the ClassID of the next item that was being edited, and if it is the same as this item, to not replace the entire UI in the command panel. Note that for items that are edited in the modifier branch this field can be ignored.

Reimplemented from Animatable.

Reimplemented in SimpleOSMToWSMObject.

CoreExport int HitTest	(	TimeValue	t,
		INode *	inode,
		int	type,
		int	crossing,
		int	flags,
		IPoint2 *	p,
		ViewExp *	vpt
	)		[virtual]

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This method is called to determine if the specified screen point intersects the item.

The method returns nonzero if the item was hit; otherwise 0.

Parameters:

t	The time to perform the hit test.
inode	A pointer to the node to test.
type	The type of hit testing to perform. See Scene and Node Hit Test Types. for details.
crossing	The state of the crossing setting. If TRUE crossing selection is on.
flags	The hit test flags. See Scene and Node Hit Testing Flags for details.
p	The screen point to test.
vpt	An interface pointer that may be used to call methods associated with the viewports.

Returns:

Nonzero if the item was hit; otherwise 0.

Reimplemented from BaseObject.

CoreExport void Snap	(	TimeValue	t,
		INode *	inode,
		SnapInfo *	snap,
		IPoint2 *	p,
		ViewExp *	vpt
	)		[virtual]

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Checks the point passed for a snap and updates the SnapInfo structure.

Note:

Developers wanting to find snap points on an Editable Mesh object should see the method XmeshSnap::Snap() in /MAXSDK/SAMPLES/SNAPS/XMESH/XMESH.CPP.

Parameters:

t	The time to check.
inode	The node to check.
snap	The snap info structure to update.
p	The screen point to check.
vpt	An interface pointer that may be used to call methods associated with the viewports.

Reimplemented from BaseObject.

CoreExport int Display	(	TimeValue	t,
		INode *	inode,
		ViewExp *	vpt,
		int	flags
	)		[virtual]

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This is called by the system to have the item display itself (perform a quick render in viewport, using the current TM).

Note: For this method to be called the object's validity interval must be invalid at the specified time t. If the interval is valid, the system may not call this method since it thinks the display is already valid.

Parameters:

t	The time to display the object.
inode	The node to display.
vpt	An interface pointer that may be used to call methods associated with the viewports.
flags	See Display Flags.

Returns:

The return value is not currently used.

Reimplemented from BaseObject.

CoreExport IParamArray* GetParamBlock

(

)

[virtual]

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An object or modifier should implement this method if it wishes to make its parameter block available for other plug-ins to access it.

The system itself doesn't actually call this method. This method is optional.

Returns:

A pointer to the item's parameter block. See Class IParamArray.

Reimplemented from BaseObject.

CoreExport int GetParamBlockIndex

(

int

id

)

[virtual]

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If a plug-in makes its parameter block available (using GetParamBlock()) then it will need to provide #defines for indices into the parameter block.

These defines should not be directly used with the parameter block but instead converted by this function that the plug-in implements. This way if a parameter moves around in a future version of the plug-in the #define can be remapped. A return value of -1 indicates an invalid parameter id.

Parameters:

id	The parameter block id. See Parameter Block IDs.

Returns:

The parameter block index or -1 if it is invalid.

Reimplemented from BaseObject.

int DoOwnSelectHilite

(

)

[inline, virtual]

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If an object wants to draw itself in the 3D viewports in its selected state in some custom manner this method should return nonzero.

If this item returns nonzero, the BaseObject::Display() method should respect the selected state of the object when it draws itself. If this method returns zero the system will use its standard method of showing the object as selected.

Returns:

Nonzero if the object will draw itself in the selected state; otherwise 0. If nonzero, the plug-in developer is responsible for displaying the object in the selected state as part of its Display() method.

Reimplemented from Object.

{return TRUE;}

CoreExport ObjectState Eval

(

TimeValue

t

)

[virtual]

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This method is called to evaluate the object and return the result as an ObjectState.

When the system has a pointer to an object it doesn't know if it's a procedural object or a derived object. So it calls Eval() on it and gets back an ObjectState. A derived object managed by the system may have to call Eval() on its input for example. A plug-in (like a procedural object) typically just returns itself. A plug-in that does not just return itself is the Morph Object (/MAXSDK/SAMPLES/OBJECTS/MORPHOBJ.CPP). This object uses a morph controller to compute a new object and fill in an ObjectState which it returns.

Parameters:

t	Specifies the time to evaluate the object.

Returns:

The result of evaluating the object as an ObjectState.

Sample Code:

Typically this method is implemented as follows:

    { return ObjectState(this); }

Implements Object.

void InitNodeName

(

MSTR &

s

)

[inline, virtual]

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This is the default name of the node when it is created.

Parameters:

s	The default name of the node is stored here.

Implements Object.

{s = GetObjectName();}

CoreExport Interval ObjectValidity

(

TimeValue

t

)

[virtual]

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This method returns the validity interval of the object as a whole at the specified time.

Parameters:

t	The time to compute the validity interval.

Default Implementation:

{ return FOREVER; }

Returns:

The validity interval of the object.

Reimplemented from Object.

CoreExport void GetWorldBoundBox	(	TimeValue	t,
		INode *	inode,
		ViewExp *	vp,
		Box3 &	box
	)		[virtual]

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This method returns the world space bounding box for Objects (see below for the Sub-object gizmo or Modifiers gizmo version).

The bounding box returned by this method does not need to be precise. It should however be calculated rapidly. The object can handle this by transforming the 8 points of its local bounding box into world space and take the minimums and maximums of the result. Although this isn't necessarily the tightest bounding box of the objects points in world space, it is close enough.

Parameters:

t	The time to compute the bounding box.
inode	The node to calculate the bounding box for.
vp	An interface pointer that can be used to call methods associated with the viewports.
box	Contains the returned bounding box.

Reimplemented from BaseObject.

CoreExport void GetLocalBoundBox	(	TimeValue	t,
		INode *	inode,
		ViewExp *	vp,
		Box3 &	box
	)		[virtual]

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This is the object space bounding box, the box in the object's local coordinates.

The system expects that requesting the object space bounding box will be fast.

Parameters:

t	The time to retrieve the bounding box.
inode	The node to calculate the bounding box for.
vp	An interface pointer that may be used to call methods associated with the viewports.
box	Contains the returned bounding box.

Reimplemented from BaseObject.

CoreExport void GetDeformBBox	(	TimeValue	t,
		Box3 &	box,
		Matrix3 *	tm,
		BOOL	useSel
	)		[virtual]

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This method computes the bounding box in the objects local coordinates or the optional space defined by tm.

Note: If you are looking for a precise bounding box, use this method and pass in the node's object TM (INode::GetObjectTM()) as the matrix.

Parameters:

t	The time to compute the box.
box	A reference to a box the result is stored in.
tm	This is an alternate coordinate system used to compute the box. If the tm is not NULL this matrix should be used in the computation of the result.
useSel	If TRUE, the bounding box of selected sub-elements should be computed; otherwise the entire object should be used.

Reimplemented from Object.

int IsRenderable

(

)

[inline, virtual]

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Indicates whether the object may be rendered.

Some objects such as construction grids and helpers should not be rendered and can return zero.

Returns:

Nonzero if the object may be rendered; otherwise 0.

Implements Object.

{return FALSE;}

CoreExport void FreeCaches

(

)

[virtual]

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Remarks:

This is called to delete any item that can be rebuilt. For example, the procedural sphere object has a mesh that it caches. It could call Mesh::FreeAll() on the mesh from this method. This will free the vertex/face/uv arrays. If the sphere is ever evaluated again it can just rebuild the mesh. If an object (like a sphere) has modifiers applied to it, and those modifiers are not animated, then the result of the pipeline is cached in the node. So there is no reason for the sphere to also have a cache of its representation. Therefore when this method is called, the sphere can free the data of the mesh.

Default Implementation:

{}

Reimplemented from Animatable.

void GetClassName

(

MSTR &

s

)

[inline, virtual]

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Retrieves the name of the plugin class.

This name is usually used internally for debugging purposes. For Material plug-ins this method is used to put up the material "type" name in the Material Editor.

Parameters:

s	Reference to a string filled in with the name of the plugin class

Reimplemented from ReferenceTarget.

{s = GetObjectName();}      

int NumSubs

(

)

[inline, virtual]

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Remarks:

The system uses a virtual array mechanism to access the sub-anims of a plug-in. This method returns the total number of sub-anims maintained by the plug-in. If a plug-in is using a parameter block to manage its parameters it should just return 1 for all the parameters directed by the parameter block.

Returns:

The number of sub-anims used by the plug-in.

Default Implementation:

{ return 0; }

Reimplemented from Animatable.

Reimplemented in SimpleOSMToWSMObject.

{ return 1; }  

Animatable* SubAnim

(

int

i

)

[inline, virtual]

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Remarks:

This method returns a pointer to the 'i-th' sub-anim. If a plug-in is using a parameter block to manage all its parameters it should just return a pointer to the parameter block itself from this method. This method may return NULL so developers need to check the return value before calling other sub anim methods (such as SubAnimName()).

Parameters:

i	This is the index of the sub-anim to return.

Default Implementation:

{ return NULL };

Reimplemented from Animatable.

Reimplemented in SimpleOSMToWSMObject.

{ return (Animatable*)pblock; }

CoreExport MSTR SubAnimName

(

int

i

)

[virtual]

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Remarks:

This method returns the name of the 'i-th' sub-anim to appear in track view. The system has no idea what name to assign to the sub-anim (it only knows it by the virtual array index), so this method is called to retrieve the name to display. Developer need to make sure the 'i-th' SubAnim() is non-NULL or this method will fail.

Parameters:

i	The index of the parameter name to return

Returns:

The name of the 'i-th' parameter.

Reimplemented from Animatable.

Reimplemented in SimpleOSMToWSMObject.

int NumRefs

(

)

[inline, virtual]

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Returns the total number of references this ReferenceMaker can hold.

The plugin implements this method to indicate the total number of of references it can make. This includes all references whether they are NULL (inactive) or non-NULL (active) at the time when this method is called. A plugin can hold a variable number of references, thus the return value of this method is not to be cached and reused by client code.

Returns:

The total number of references this plugin can hold. The default implementation is return 0.

Reimplemented from ReferenceMaker.

Reimplemented in SimpleOSMToWSMObject.

{return 1;}

RefTargetHandle GetReference

(

int

i

)

[inline, virtual]

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Returns the 'i-th' reference.

The plugin implements this method to return its 'i-th' reference. The plug-in simply keeps track of its references using an integer index for each one. This method is normally called by the system.

Parameters:

i	- The index of the reference to retrieve. Valid values are from 0 to NumRefs()-1.

Returns:

The reference handle of the 'i-th' reference. Note that different calls to this method with the same 'i' value can result in different reference handles being retrieved, as the plugin changes the scene objects it references as its 'i-th' reference.

Reimplemented from ReferenceMaker.

Reimplemented in SimpleWSMObject2, and SimpleOSMToWSMObject.

{return (RefTargetHandle)pblock;}

virtual void SetReference	(	int	i,
		RefTargetHandle	rtarg
	)		[inline, protected, virtual]

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Stores a ReferenceTarget as its 'i-th' reference`.

The plugin implements this method to store the reference handle passed to it as its 'i-th' reference. In its implementation of this method, the plugin should simply assign the reference handle passed in as a parameter to the member variable that holds the 'i-th' reference. Other reference handling methods such as ReferenceMaker::DeleteReference(), or ReferenceMaker::ReplaceReference() should not be called from within this method. The plugin itself or other plugins should not call this method directly. The system will call this method when a new reference is created or an existing one is replaced by calling ReferenceMaker::ReplaceReference().

Parameters:

i	- The index of the reference to store. Valid values are from 0 to NumRefs()-1.
rtarg	- The reference handle to store.

Reimplemented from ReferenceMaker.

Reimplemented in SimpleWSMObject2, and SimpleOSMToWSMObject.

{pblock=(IParamBlock*)rtarg;}       

CoreExport RefResult NotifyRefChanged	(	Interval	changeInt,
		RefTargetHandle	hTarget,
		PartID &	partID,
		RefMessage	message
	)		[virtual]

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Receives and responds to messages.

A plugin which makes references must implement a method to receive and respond to messages broadcast by its dependents. This is done by implementing NotifyRefChanged(). The plugin developer usually implements this method as a switch statement where each case is one of the messages the plugin needs to respond to. The Method StdNotifyRefChanged calls this, which can change the partID to new value. If it doesn't depend on the particular message& partID, it should return REF_DONTCARE.

• For developer that need to update a dialog box with data about an object you reference note the following related to this method: This method may be called many times. For instance, say you have a dialog box that displays data about an object you reference. This method will get called many time during the drag operations on that object. If you updated the display every time you'd wind up with a lot of 'flicker' in the dialog box. Rather than updating the dialog box each time, you should just invalidate the window in response to the NotifyRefChanged() call. Then, as the user drags the mouse your window will still receive paint messages. If the scene is complex the user may have to pause (but not let up on the mouse) to allow the paint message to go through since they have a low priority. This is the way many windows in 3ds Max work.

Parameters:

changeInt	- This is the interval of time over which the message is active. Currently, all plug-ins will receive FOREVER for this interval.
hTarget	- This is the handle of the reference target the message was sent by. The reference maker uses this handle to know specifically which reference target sent the message.
partID	- This contains information specific to the message passed in. Some messages don't use the partID at all. See the section List of Reference Messages for more information about the meaning of the partID for some common messages.
message	- The message parameters passed into this method is the specific message which needs to be handled.

Returns:

The return value from this method is of type RefResult. This is usually REF_SUCCEED indicating the message was processed. Sometimes, the return value may be REF_STOP. This return value is used to stop the message from being propagated to the dependents of the item.

Implements ReferenceMaker.

virtual void BuildMesh

(

TimeValue

t

)

[pure virtual]

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Remarks:

This method is called to build the mesh representation of the object using its parameter settings at the time passed.

Parameters:

TimeValue t

The time at which to build the mesh.

Implemented in SimpleOSMToWSMObject.

virtual BOOL OKtoDisplay

(

TimeValue

t

)

[inline, virtual]

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Remarks:

This method returns a BOOL to indicate if it is okay to draw the object at the time passed. Normally it is always OK to draw the object, so the default implementation returns TRUE. However for certain objects it might be a degenerate case to draw the object at a certain time (perhaps the size went to zero for example), so these objects could return FALSE.

Parameters:

TimeValue t

The time at which the object would be displayed.

Default Implementation:

{ return TRUE; }

Returns:

TRUE if the object may be displayed; otherwise FALSE.

{return TRUE;}

virtual void InvalidateUI

(

)

[inline, virtual]

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Remarks:

This is called if the user interface parameters needs to be updated because the user moved to a new time. The UI controls must display values for the current time.

Example:

If the plug-in uses a parameter map for handling its UI, it may call a method of the parameter map to handle this: pmapParam->Invalidate();

If the plug-in does not use parameter maps, it should call the SetValue() method on each of its controls that display a value, for example the spinner controls. This will cause to the control to update the value displayed. The code below shows how this may be done for a spinner control. Note that ip and pblock are assumed to be initialized interface and parameter block pointers

(IObjParam *ip, IParamBlock *pblock).

float newval;

Interval valid=FOREVER;

TimeValue t=ip->GetTime();

// Get the value from the parameter block at the current time.

pblock->GetValue( PB_ANGLE, t, newval, valid );

// Set the value. Note that the notify argument is passed as FALSE.

// This ensures no messages are sent when the value changes.

angleSpin->SetValue( newval, FALSE );

Reimplemented in SimpleOSMToWSMObject.

{}

virtual ParamDimension* GetParameterDim

(

int

pbIndex

)

[inline, virtual]

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Remarks:

This method returns the parameter dimension of the parameter whose index is passed.

Parameters:

int pbIndex

The index of the parameter to return the dimension of.

Returns:

Pointer to a ParamDimension.

Example:

return stdNormalizedDim;

Default Implementation:

The default implementation returns defaultDim.

See also:

ParamDimension

Reimplemented in SimpleOSMToWSMObject.

{return defaultDim;}

virtual MSTR GetParameterName

(

int

pbIndex

)

[inline, virtual]

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Remarks:

This method returns the name of the parameter whose index is passed.

Parameters:

int pbIndex

The index of the parameter to return the name of.

Returns:

The name of the parameter.

Default Implementation:

The default implementation returns MSTR(_M("Parameter"))

Reimplemented in SimpleOSMToWSMObject.

{return MSTR(_M("Parameter"));}     

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Member Data Documentation

IParamBlock* pblock

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Mesh mesh

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Interval ivalid

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SimpleWSMObject* editOb [static]

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