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Visualization Library v2.0-b1 Release Notes

Release Date: 2017-01-18 // over 7 years ago

  • ⚡️ This includes many updates, fixes and experimental architectural improvements.

    Note that there are some API breaking changes highlighted below, however porting should be easy.

    ✅ It's mostly an incremental improvement over VL v1.0 at this stage, plus better Qt4/Qt5 support, better OpenGL Core support, more powerful GLSL management in general, more coherent API and various fixes. It has also been battle-tested in a couple of big projects, so as far as I know it's quite stable.

    I haven't been able to accept pull requests and patches so far because I had this major new version in the works for months - hopefully now I'll be able to go through the various feedback I've received and start incorporating the good stuff :)

    ⚡️ OpenGLContext::dispatchRunEvent() renamed dispatchUpdateEvent()

    ➕ Added standard GLSL includes uniforms.glsl and vertex_attribs.glsl
    Using new GLSL #pragma VL include capability
    #version 150 compatibility is current preferred safe version for many GLSL scripts

    mGLSLProgram->useProgram();

    becomes

    openglContext()->useGLSLProgram( mGLSLProgram.get() );

    🚚 Legacy GLSL removed (these are taken care of from inside the GLSL script)

    glsl->setGeometryInputType(GIT_TRIANGLES);
    glsl->setGeometryOutputType(GOT_TRIANGLE_STRIP);
    glsl->setGeometryVerticesOut( 3*6 );

    Vertex Attrib Arrays now can be used in 3 ways:

       // bind the tangent vertex attribute - can be done in 3 ways
#if 1
    // user defines his custom vertex attribute
    mGLSL->linkProgram();
    int tangent_idx = mGLSL->getAttribLocation("VertexTangent"); VL_CHECK( tangent_idx != -1 );
    model->setVertexAttribArray(tangent_idx, tangent.get() ); // GLSL: in vec3 VertexTangent (user declared)
#elif 0
    // user uses pre-defined aliased utility vertex attribute
    model->setVertexAttribArray( vl::VA_Tangent, tangent.get() ); // GLSL: vl_VertexTangent (decl. /glsl/std/vertex_attribs.glsl)
#else
    // user uses pre-defined basic vertex attribute
    model->setVertexAttribArray( vl::VA_TexCoord1, tangent.get() ); // GLSL: vl_VertexTexCoord1 (decl. /glsl/std/vertex_attribs.glsl)
#endif

    sceneManager()->extractActors( *intersector.actors() );

    becomes

    sceneManager()->extractVisibleActors( *intersector.actors(), NULL );

    ✂ Removed because not needed anymore: (see tessellation shader example, see morphing callback example)

    geom_patch->convertToVertexAttribs();
    mGLSL->addAutoAttribLocation( 0, "vl_Position" );

    ➕ Added Qt4 & Qt5 GUI and filesystem support

    Now QFile and QDirectories can be used as part of VL virtual file system - including Qt compiled resurces.

    ➕ Added CalibratedCamera class for augmented reality applications

    ➕ Added AdjacencyExtractor class

    Used to generate PT_LINES_ADJACENCY, PT_LINE_STRIP_ADJACENCY,
    PT_TRIANGLES_ADJACENCY, PT_TRIANGLE_STRIP_ADJACENCY primitive type for
    silhouette extraction, geometry slicing and topology manipulation in geometry shaders.

    ⚡️ Updated vlVolume

    • 👌 Improved raycast volume rendering quality & fixed bugs.
    • 🛠 Automatic slice count computation for sliced volume rendering & fixed bugs.
    • 🛠 vl::genGradientNormals() utility function fixed.

    ➕ added vl::Object::setObjectName()

    ➕ added vl::String constructor for std::string & std::wstring

    Vector2, Vector3 and Vector4 can be constructed from single scalar.

    👍 Better automatic texture unit management.

    User configurable VL_MAX_TEXTURE_UNITS now removed by internal VL_MAX_TEXTURE_IMAGE_UNITS
    and VL_MAX_LEGACY_TEXTURE_UNITS constants.

    🛠 Fixed warnings in glsl_math.hpp

    👌 Improved Buffer Object documentation in Array.hpp

    🛠 Fixed various render states getter/setter constness in Shader.hpp

    TriangleIterator supports PT_TRIANGLES_ADJACENCY primitive type.

    ✂ removed Viewport::enableScissorSetup()
    ➕ added Viewport::setScissorEnabled(bool)
    ➕ added bool Viewport::isScissorEnabled()
    Viewport::mSetupScissor -> mScissorEnabled

    👌 Improved Uniform getters/setters

    Image:

    • ➕ added support to IF_RG and
    • new constructor Image(void* buffer_ptr, int buffer_bytes) allowing initializing an Image against a user/externally allocated buffer

    0️⃣ TextureSampler::reset(int index, OpenGLContext* ctx) utility function to set a texture sampler to it's default disabled state.

    Textures: Managed Textures and Destroy on Create.

    Managed Textures: allow user to assign and manage the low level OpenGL handle with vl::Texture
    👉 Useful when you want to use a single vl::Texture object but change/recreate the underlying OpenGL texture handle at will.

    Destroy on create: calling Texture::createTexture() (or any function that calls this) will automatically destroy any existing texture (not if it's managed).

    🚚 GLSL: removed UniformInfo, AttribInfo and AutoAttribLocations

    Because not useful and superseded by new auto vertex attrib system

    GLSL: new #pragma VL include /path/to/file.glsl directive

    You can now include a GLSL file from another GLSL file!

    🚚 GLSL: removed deprecated GeometryVerticesOut, GeometryInputType, GeometryOutputType logic

    OpenGL 3+ uses the layout keyword for these.

    GLSL: added GLSLShader and GLSLProgram reload() functions

    🚚 GLSLProgram::useProgram() removed, use OpenGLContext::useGLSLProgram()

    GLSL: Automatic vertex attrib location binding:

    vl_VertexPosition
    vl_VertexNormal
    vl_VertexColor
    vl_VertexSecondaryColor
    vl_VertexFogCoord
    vl_VertexTexCoord0
    vl_VertexTexCoord1
    vl_VertexTexCoord2
    vl_VertexTexCoord3
    vl_VertexTexCoord4
    vl_VertexTexCoord5
    vl_VertexTexCoord6
    vl_VertexTexCoord7
    vl_VertexTexCoord8
    vl_VertexTexCoord9
    vl_VertexTexCoord10

    GLSL: Automatic standard uniform detection:

    vl_WorldMatrix
    vl_ModelViewMatrix
    vl_ProjectionMatrix
    vl_ModelViewProjectionMatrix
    vl_NormalMatrix

    🛠 GLSL: various improvements and fixes.

    ➕ Added Renderer::rederRaw() function.

    👉 Makes it easy to create custom Renderer classes.

    ➕ Added Enabled attribute to Actor and ActorTree.

    ⚡️ See also the new/updated functions:

    • bool Renderer::isEnabled(const Actor* actor)
    • bool Rendering::isEnabled(const Actor* actor)
    • bool SceneManager::isEnabled(const Actor* actor)
    • SceneManager::extractActors() vs extractVisibleActors()
    • Actor::setEnabled()/isEnabled()
    • ActorTreeAbstract::setEnabled()/isEnabled()
    • ActorTreeAbstract::extractActors() vs extractVisibleActors()

    ActorTree API changes:

    mChildren is now protected and can be accessed in read-only mode using the children() method.

    🆕 New/updated methods to manipulate the tree nodes:

    • void addChild(ActorTreeAbstract* node);
    • void addChildOnce(ActorTreeAbstract* node);
    • void setChild(int i, ActorTreeAbstract* node);
    • void eraseChild(int i, int count=1);
    • int findChild(ActorTreeAbstract* node);
    • bool eraseChild(ActorTreeAbstract* node);
    • void eraseChild(int i, int count = 1);
    • void eraseAllChildren();

    Automatic Generalized Vertex Attribute Arrays

    • Unified API to access all vertex attibutes, position, normal, color but also
      texture coords and the generic vertex attibutes (glVertexAttribPointer).
    • 👀 Standard vertex attributes like position, normal and color can be seen both
      from the legacy API (ex. Geometry::normalArray()) and the generic api
      (ex. Geometry::vertexAttribArray( vl::VA_Normal )).
    • 🚚 Geometry::convertToVertexAttribs() removed as it's not needed anymore.
    • Great simplification of lot's of code that can now be agnostic of legacy vs
      generic vertex attributes usage.

    Geometry::setColorArray() tries to not reallocate the color array.

    It also sets the buffer object dirty.

    🛠 Rendering: fixed bug creating a continuous stream of Textures

    Always setup legacy GLSL matrices as well as vl standard matrix uniforms.

    👍 OpenGLContext: much better Core profile support and closer OpenGL state tracking.