SoDirectionalLight(3)

✨ SoDirectionalLight ✨

okay bestie, welcome to the SoDirectionalLight(3) page from the Library Functions Manual 💅 this is the class that's literally the blueprint for specifying directional light sources, and we're gonna go through every single detail together, no skips, no cap 🫶

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🌸 NAME 🌸

SoDirectionalLight — the class is a node type for specifying directional light sources. that's the whole vibe. iconic. 💖

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

first things first, you gotta pull in the header like so:

#include <Inventor/nodes/SoDirectionalLight.h>

• Inherits SoLight.
• Inherited by SoDirectionalLightManip.

✨ Public Member Functions ✨

virtual SoType getTypeId (void) const
SoDirectionalLight (void)
virtual void GLRender (SoGLRenderAction *action)

💫 Public Member Functions inherited from SoLight 💫

virtual void callback (SoCallbackAction *action)

🌈 Public Member Functions inherited from SoNode 🌈

void setOverride (const SbBool state)
SbBool isOverride (void) const
void setNodeType (const NodeType type)
NodeType getNodeType (void) const
virtual SoNode * copy (SbBool copyconnections=FALSE) const
virtual SbBool affectsState (void) const
virtual void doAction (SoAction *action)
virtual void GLRenderBelowPath (SoGLRenderAction *action)
virtual void GLRenderInPath (SoGLRenderAction *action)
virtual void GLRenderOffPath (SoGLRenderAction *action)
virtual void getBoundingBox (SoGetBoundingBoxAction *action)
virtual void getMatrix (SoGetMatrixAction *action)
virtual void handleEvent (SoHandleEventAction *action)
virtual void pick (SoPickAction *action)
virtual void rayPick (SoRayPickAction *action)
virtual void search (SoSearchAction *action)
virtual void write (SoWriteAction *action)
virtual void audioRender (SoAudioRenderAction *action)
virtual void getPrimitiveCount (SoGetPrimitiveCountAction *action)
virtual void grabEventsSetup (void)
virtual void grabEventsCleanup (void)
virtual void startNotify (void)
virtual void notify (SoNotList *l)
uint32_t getNodeId (void) const
virtual SoChildList * getChildren (void) const
virtual void writeInstance (SoOutput *out)
virtual SoNode * addToCopyDict (void) const
virtual void copyContents (const SoFieldContainer *from, SbBool copyconnections)
virtual SoFieldContainer * copyThroughConnection (void) const

🎀 Public Member Functions inherited from SoFieldContainer 🎀

void setToDefaults (void)
SbBool hasDefaultValues (void) const
SbBool fieldsAreEqual (const SoFieldContainer *container) const
void copyFieldValues (const SoFieldContainer *container, SbBool copyconnections=FALSE)
SbBool set (const char *const fielddata)
void get (SbString &fielddata)
virtual int getFields (SoFieldList &l) const
virtual int getAllFields (SoFieldList &l) const
virtual SoField * getField (const SbName &name) const
virtual SoField * getEventIn (const SbName &name) const
virtual SoField * getEventOut (const SbName &name) const
SbBool getFieldName (const SoField *const field, SbName &name) const
SbBool enableNotify (const SbBool flag)
SbBool isNotifyEnabled (void) const
SbBool set (const char *fielddata, SoInput *input)
void get (SbString &fielddata, SoOutput *out)
virtual SbBool validateNewFieldValue (SoField *field, void *newval)
virtual void addWriteReference (SoOutput *out, SbBool isfromfield=FALSE)
SbBool getIsBuiltIn (void) const
virtual void getFieldsMemorySize (size_t &managed, size_t &unmanaged) const
void setUserData (void *userdata) const
void * getUserData (void) const

🧚 Public Member Functions inherited from SoBase 🧚

void ref (void) const
void unref (void) const
void unrefNoDelete (void) const
int32_t getRefCount (void) const
void touch (void)
SbBool isOfType (SoType type) const
virtual SbName getName (void) const
virtual void setName (const SbName &newname)
void addAuditor (void *const auditor, const SoNotRec::Type type)
void removeAuditor (void *const auditor, const SoNotRec::Type type)
const SoAuditorList & getAuditors (void) const
SbBool shouldWrite (void)
void assertAlive (void) const

⭐ Static Public Member Functions ⭐

static SoType getClassTypeId (void)
static void initClass (void)

💜 Static Public Member Functions inherited from SoLight 💜

static SoType getClassTypeId (void)
static void initClass (void)

🌸 Static Public Member Functions inherited from SoNode 🌸

static uint32_t getCompatibilityTypes (const SoType &nodetype)
static SoType getClassTypeId (void)
static SoNode * getByName (const SbName &name)
static int getByName (const SbName &name, SoNodeList &l)
static void initClass (void)
static void initClasses (void)
static uint32_t getNextNodeId (void)
static int getActionMethodIndex (const SoType type)
static void getBoundingBoxS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void GLRenderS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void callbackS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void getMatrixS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void handleEventS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void pickS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void rayPickS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void searchS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void writeS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void audioRenderS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void getPrimitiveCountS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)

🦋 Static Public Member Functions inherited from SoFieldContainer 🦋

static void initClass (void)
static SoType getClassTypeId (void)
static void cleanupClass (void)
static void initCopyDict (void)
static void addCopy (const SoFieldContainer *orig, const SoFieldContainer *copy)
static SoFieldContainer * checkCopy (const SoFieldContainer *orig)
static SoFieldContainer * findCopy (const SoFieldContainer *orig, const SbBool copyconnections)
static void copyDone (void)

💖 Static Public Member Functions inherited from SoBase 💖

static void initClass (void)
static SoType getClassTypeId (void)
static void addName (SoBase *const base, const char *const name)
static void removeName (SoBase *const base, const char *const name)
static void incrementCurrentWriteCounter (void)
static void decrementCurrentWriteCounter (void)
static SoBase * getNamedBase (const SbName &name, SoType type)
static int getNamedBases (const SbName &name, SoBaseList &baselist, SoType type)
static SbBool read (SoInput *input, SoBase *&base, SoType expectedtype)
static void setInstancePrefix (const SbString &c)
static void setTraceRefs (SbBool trace)
static SbBool getTraceRefs (void)
static SbBool connectRoute (SoInput *input, const SbName &fromnodename, const SbName &fromfieldname, const SbName &tonodename, const SbName &tofieldname)
static SbBool readRoute (SoInput *input)

👑 Public Attributes 👑

SoSFVec3f direction

🌈 Public Attributes inherited from SoLight 🌈

SoSFBool on
SoSFFloat intensity
SoSFColor color

🎀 Protected Member Functions 🎀

virtual const SoFieldData * getFieldData (void) const
virtual ~SoDirectionalLight ()

✨ Protected Member Functions inherited from SoLight ✨

SoLight (void)
virtual ~SoLight ()

🍓 Protected Member Functions inherited from SoNode 🍓

SoNode (void)
virtual ~SoNode ()
virtual SbBool readInstance (SoInput *in, unsigned short flags)

💫 Protected Member Functions inherited from SoFieldContainer 💫

SoFieldContainer (void)
virtual ~SoFieldContainer ()

🧚 Protected Member Functions inherited from SoBase 🧚

SoBase (void)
virtual ~SoBase ()
virtual void destroy (void)
SbBool hasMultipleWriteRefs (void) const
SbBool writeHeader (SoOutput *out, SbBool isgroup, SbBool isengine) const
void writeFooter (SoOutput *out) const
virtual const char * getFileFormatName (void) const

⭐ Static Protected Member Functions ⭐

static const SoFieldData ** getFieldDataPtr (void)

💜 Static Protected Member Functions inherited from SoLight 💜

static const SoFieldData ** getFieldDataPtr (void)

🌸 Static Protected Member Functions inherited from SoNode 🌸

static const SoFieldData ** getFieldDataPtr (void)
static void setNextActionMethodIndex (int index)
static int getNextActionMethodIndex (void)
static void incNextActionMethodIndex (void)
static void setCompatibilityTypes (const SoType &nodetype, const uint32_t bitmask)

🦋 Static Protected Member Functions inherited from SoBase 🦋

static uint32_t getCurrentWriteCounter (void)
static void staticDataLock (void)
static void staticDataUnlock (void)

🎀 Additional Inherited Members 🎀

💖 Public Types inherited from SoNode 💖

enum NodeType { INVENTOR = 0x0000, VRML1 = 0x0001, VRML2 = 0x0002,
    INVENTOR_1 = 0x0004, INVENTOR_2_0 = 0x0008, INVENTOR_2_1 = 0x0010,
    INVENTOR_2_5 = 0x0020, INVENTOR_2_6 = 0x0040, COIN_1_0 = 0x0080,
    COIN_2_0 = 0x0100, EXTENSION = 0x0200, COIN_2_2 = 0x0400, COIN_2_3 =
    0x0800, COIN_2_4 = 0x1000, INVENTOR_5_0 = 0x2000, COIN_2_5 = 0x4000,
    COIN_3_0 = 0x8000, INVENTOR_6_0 = 0x10000 }

🌈 Protected Types inherited from SoBase 🌈

enum BaseFlags { IS_ENGINE = 0x01, IS_GROUP = 0x02 }

⭐ Protected Attributes inherited from SoNode ⭐

uint32_t uniqueId

💫 Protected Attributes inherited from SoFieldContainer 💫

SbBool isBuiltIn

🧚 Static Protected Attributes inherited from SoNode 🧚

static uint32_t nextUniqueId = 1
static int nextActionMethodIndex = 0

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👑 Detailed Description 👑

SoDirectionalLight is a node type for specifying directional light sources. that's the whole assignment, bestie 💅

so here's the tea: a directional light source gives you a model of light sources that are at infinite distance from the geometry they're lighting up. meaning — it has no set position, and it's made of an infinite volume of parallel rays. it's giving "the concept of a position? never heard of her" 😭

and yes, this is of course a simplified model of far-away light sources, because "infinite distance" is literally impossible. the math said no. 🙈

the sun shining on objects on earth? perfect example of something that can be modeled rather well for the most common purposes with a directional light source. nature said "let me give you a free demo" ☀️✨

also, see the documentation of the parent class for important info about light sources in general — it's a whole other read, but it matters, fr fr 🫶

🌸 FILE FORMAT/DEFAULTS: 🌸

DirectionalLight {
    on TRUE
    intensity 1
    color 1 1 1
    direction 0 0 -1
}

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okay so a super common thing to do with an SoDirectionalLight is to connect it to a camera, so it acts in the style of a head light for that camera. like, the light is following the camera around, main character energy 💅

and it's lowkey easy to do this — you link an SoRotation::rotation field (the one influencing the light) to the SoCamera::orientation field. here's a complete example iv-file showing off the technique:

#Inventor V2.1 ascii

DEF mycam PerspectiveCamera { }

TransformSeparator {
   SoRotation { rotation = USE mycam.orientation }
   DirectionalLight { direction 0 0 -1 }
}

Cube { }

(the SoTransformSeparator is in there to keep the effect of the SoRotation node within a scope where it'll only influence the light, and not the geometry that follows the light in the scene graph. scope control, we love to see it 🎀)

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🦋 Constructor & Destructor Documentation 🦋

💖 SoDirectionalLight::SoDirectionalLight (void ) 💖

Constructor. she's born ✨

💀 SoDirectionalLight::~SoDirectionalLight () [protected], [virtual] 💀

Destructor. she's gone, but make it protected and virtual 💅

💖 Member Function Documentation 💖

okay bestie, this is the part where we meet the actual functions — the little methods that make this light do its thing. no skips, no skimming, we're going through every single one together. grab a boba, we got this 🧋✨

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🌟 SoType SoDirectionalLight::getTypeId (void ) const 🌟 [virtual]

this one? iconic. it returns the type identification of an object derived from a class inheriting SoBase. basically it's how the library does run-time type checking and "downward" casting — like, "hey, what are you, actually?" 👑

usage example, and yes we're keeping it verbatim because it slays:

void foo(SoNode * node)
{
  if (node->getTypeId() == SoFile::getClassTypeId()) {
    SoFile * filenode = (SoFile *)node;  // safe downward cast, knows the type
  }
}

now for the app programmers out there who wanna extend the library with new nodes, engines, nodekits, draggers or others: this method needs to be overridden in all subclasses. periodt. this is typically done as part of setting up the full type system for extension classes, which is usually accomplished by using the pre-defined macros available through for instance Inventor/nodes/SoSubNode.h (SO_NODE_INIT_CLASS and SO_NODE_CONSTRUCTOR for node classes), Inventor/engines/SoSubEngine.h (for engine classes) and so on. the way that's just the whole type-system pipeline, iykyk 🫶

for more info on writing Coin extensions, see the class documentation of the toplevel superclasses for the various class groups.

• Reimplemented from SoLight.
• Reimplemented in SoDirectionalLightManip.

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🦋 const SoFieldData * SoDirectionalLight::getFieldData (void ) const 🦋 [protected], [virtual]

returns a pointer to the class-wide field data storage object for this instance. and if there are no fields present? it returns NULL. that's it, that's the whole vibe 💀

• Reimplemented from SoLight.
• Reimplemented in SoDirectionalLightManip.

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🔥 void SoDirectionalLight::GLRender (SoGLRenderAction * action) 🔥 [virtual]

action method for the SoGLRenderAction.

this is called during rendering traversals. nodes influencing the rendering state in any way — or who wants to throw geometry primitives at OpenGL — override this method. main character rendering energy, fr fr ✨

• Reimplemented from SoNode.
• Reimplemented in SoDirectionalLightManip.

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🎀 Member Data Documentation 🎀

💜 SoSFVec3f SoDirectionalLight::direction

the direction of the light source. defaults to pointing along the negative z-axis. that's the whole field, bestie, short and sweet 🌸

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🌈 Author 🌈

ngl, this page was Generated automatically by Doxygen for Coin from the source code. so no human author to credit here — the robot did it and honestly? it ate 🤖💅

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and that's a wrap on SoDirectionalLight(3)! source is Coin, version 3.1.3, and the footer's just out here being SoDirectionalLight(3) with no date in sight — so we're signing off with the version and the page name and calling it a day. go point some light in the negative z direction, you got this 🫶✨💖