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SoField Class

Base class for all fields.

Inheritance Hierarchy
SystemObject
  OIV.InventorSoNetBase
    OIV.Inventor.FieldsSoField
      OIV.Inventor.FieldsSoMField
      OIV.Inventor.FieldsSoSField

Namespace: OIV.Inventor.Fields
Assembly: OIV.Inventor (in OIV.Inventor.dll) Version: 2024.2.0.0 (2024.2.0)
Syntax
public class SoField : SoNetBase

The SoField type exposes the following members.

Methods
  NameDescription
Public methodAppendConnection(SoEngineOutput)

Appends this field to the list of connections from another engineOutput.

Public methodAppendConnection(SoField)

Appends this field to the list of connections from another field.

Public methodConnectFrom(SoEngineOutput)

Connects this field from an engine output.

Public methodConnectFrom(SoField)

Connects this field to another field.

Public methodDisconnect

Disconnect the field from whatever it was connected to.

Public methodDisconnect(SoEngineOutput)

Disconnect the field from the requested engineOutput.

Public methodDisconnect(SoField)

Disconnect the field from the requested field.

Public methodEnableConnection

Field connections may be enabled and disabled.

Public methodEquals
(Overrides ObjectEquals(Object).)
Public methodGet

Returns the value of the field in the Open Inventor file format, even if the field has its default value.

Public methodGetConnectedEngine

Returns true if this field is being written into by an engine, and returns the engine output it is connected to in engineOutput.

Public methodGetConnectedField

Returns true if this field is being written into by another field, and returns the field it is connected to in writingField.

Public methodGetConnections

Returns a list of the connections to this field.

Public methodGetContainer

Returns the object that contains this field.

Public methodGetForwardConnections

Adds references to all of the fields that this field is writing into (either fields in nodes, global fields or engine inputs) to the given field list, and returns the number of forward connections.

Public methodGetHashCode
Overrides GetHashCode().
(Inherited from SoNetBase.)
Public methodGetNumConnections

Returns the number of connections to this field.

Public methodGetType
Gets the Type of the current instance.
(Inherited from Object.)
Public methodGetValueSize

Gets the size of the value.

Public methodIsConnected

Returns true if the field is connected to anything.

Public methodIsConnectedFromEngine

Returns true if the field is connected to an engine's output.

Public methodIsConnectedFromField

Returns true if the field is connected to another field.

Public methodIsConnectedFromVRMLInterp

Returns true if the field is connected to a VRML interpOutput.

Public methodIsConnectionEnabled

Returns false if connections to this field are disabled.

Public methodIsDefault

Gets the state of default flag of the field.

Public methodIsIgnored

Gets the ignore flag for this field.

Public methodSet

Sets the field to the given value, which is an ASCII string in the Open Inventor file format.

Public methodSetIgnored

Sets the ignore flag for this field.

Public methodToString
Returns a string that represents the current object.
(Inherited from Object.)
Public methodTouch

Simulates a change to the field, causing attached sensors to fire, connected fields and engines to be marked as needing evaluation, and so forth.

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Operators
  NameDescription
Public operatorStatic memberEquality
Public operatorStatic memberInequality
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Remarks

OIV.Inventor.Fields.SoField is the abstract base class for all fields. Fields are the data elements contained within nodes and are the input values for engines. Each node or engine class specifies a set of fields and associates a name with each. These names define the semantics of the field (e.g., the OIV.Inventor.Nodes.SoCube node contains three float fields named width, height, and depth). Field classes provide the access methods that indirectly allow editing and querying of data within nodes.

There are two abstract subclasses of OIV.Inventor.Fields.SoField: OIV.Inventor.Fields.SoSField is the base class for all single-valued field classes and OIV.Inventor.Fields.SoMField is the base class for all multiple-valued fields, which contain dynamic arrays of values. Subclasses of OIV.Inventor.Fields.SoSField have an SoSF prefix, and subclasses of OIV.Inventor.Fields.SoMField have an SoMF prefix. See the reference pages for OIV.Inventor.Fields.SoSField and OIV.Inventor.Fields.SoMField for additional methods.

Fields are typically constructed only within node or engine instances; if you need a field that is not part of a node or engine, you can create a GlobalField ; see the methods on OIV.Inventor.SoDB for creating global fields.

Fields can be connected either directly to another field, or can be connected to the output of an engine. The value of a field with a connection will change when the thing it is connected to changes. For example, consider a field "A" that is connected from "B" (by A->connectFrom(B) ). When B's value is changed, A's value will also change. Note that A and B may have different values, even if they are connected: if A's value is set after B's value, A's value will be different from B's until B's value is set.

A field can be connected to several other fields, but can be connected from only one source.

It is possible (and often useful) to create loops of field connections (for example, A connected from B and B connected from A). If there are loops, then the rule is that the last setValue() done overrides any connections in to that value. You can think of setting the value of a field as immediately propagating that value forward into all the fields it is connected to, with the propagation stopping at the place where the original setValue() occurred if there is a connection loop. (Actually, a more efficient mechanism than this is used, but the semantics are the same.)

If you try to connect two fields of differing types, Open Inventor will automatically try to insert a field converter engine between them to convert values from one type into the other. Open Inventor has most reasonable conversions built-in (multiple-valued field to single-valued and vice versa, anything to OIV.Inventor.Fields.SoSFString, anything to OIV.Inventor.Fields.SoSFTrigger, float/short/unsigned short/int32_t/uint32_t/etc numeric conversions, etc). You can add field converters using OIV.Inventor.SoDB's extender method addConverter(); see the SoDB.h header file for details. You can also find out if a converter is available with the OIV.Inventor.SoDB.GetConverter(System.Type, System.Type) method.

Fields each define their own file format for reading and being written to files, but all fields follow the same conventions:

Fields in a node or engine are written as the name of the field followed by the field's value; fields are not written if they have not been modified since they were created (if they have their default value).

The ignored flag is written as a "~" character after the field's value (if the field's value is its default value, just the "~" is written).

Field connections are written as an "=" followed by the container of the field or engine output that the field is connected to, followed by a "." and the name of the field or engine output. For example:

   DEF node1 Transform translation 1 1 1
  DEF node2 Scale scaleFactor 1 1 1 = USE node1.translation
Global fields are written as part of an internal OIV.Inventor.Fields.SoFieldContainer class called GlobalField , which writes out an OIV.Inventor.Fields.SoSFName field named type whose value is the type of the global field, followed by a field of that type whose name is the name of the global field. For example, a global uint32_t field called "FrameCounter" whose value is 494 would be written as:

   GlobalField{
  type SoSFUInt32
  FrameCounter 494
  }

See Also