SoClipPlane(3)

📦
version 4.0.10 · 4 versions
, in fedora 43, fedora 44

🎀 Coin presents: SoClipPlane(3) 🎀

okay bestie, welcome to the Coin manual page for SoClipPlane(3) — yes it's a whole 3D graphics toolkit and yes this node is the one that does the clipping-plane thing. buckle up, this page is LONG, so we're doing it in parts. 💅

💖 NAME 💖

SoClipPlane — the class that's a node type for specifying clipping planes. that's it, that's the vibe. ✂️

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

like, here's how you pull it in:

#include <Inventor/nodes/SoClipPlane.h>

Inherits SoNode.

Inherited by SoClipPlaneManip.

so it's a SoNode at heart, and SoClipPlaneManip inherits from it. family tree stuff. 🌳

✨ Public Member Functions ✨

these are the ones that are hers, the main character methods:

  • virtual SoType getTypeId (void) const
  • SoClipPlane (void)
  • virtual void doAction (SoAction *action)
  • virtual void GLRender (SoGLRenderAction *action)
  • virtual void callback (SoCallbackAction *action)
  • virtual void pick (SoPickAction *action)

🌸 Public Member Functions inherited from SoNode 🌸

all of this is handed down from the parent, no cap:

  • 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 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 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)
  • SbUniqueId 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 — returns TRUE if the type of this object is either of the same type or inherited from type.
  • 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) — sets up initialization for data common to all instances of this class, like submitting necessary information to the Coin type system. it's the little setup ritual, iconic. 🔥

🫶 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) — sets up initialization for data common to all instances of this class, like submitting necessary information to the Coin type system.
  • static void initClasses (void)
  • static SbUniqueId 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) — sets up initialization for data common to all instances of this class, like submitting necessary information to the Coin type system.
  • static SoType getClassTypeId (void) — this static method returns the SoType object associated with objects of this class.
  • 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) — sets up initialization for data common to all instances of this class, like submitting necessary information to the Coin type system.
  • static SoType getClassTypeId (void) — this static method returns the SoType object associated with objects of this class.
  • 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 🌈

the actual data slots, the ones you'll be poking at:

  • SoSFPlane plane
  • SoSFBool on

💅 Protected Member Functions 💅

for the family only, not your business normally:

  • virtual const SoFieldData * getFieldData (void) const
  • virtual ~SoClipPlane ()

🍓 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
  • virtual SoNotRec createNotRec (void)

🌟 Static Protected Member Functions 🌟

  • 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, COIN_4_0 = 0x20000 }

Protected Types inherited from SoBase

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

Protected Attributes inherited from SoNode

  • SbUniqueId uniqueId

Protected Attributes inherited from SoFieldContainer

  • SbBool isBuiltIn

Static Protected Attributes inherited from SoNode

  • static SbUniqueId nextUniqueId = 1
  • static int nextActionMethodIndex = 0

💖 Detailed Description 💖

okay so bestie, SoClipPlane is a node type for specifying clipping planes. that's the whole gig. it slices ✂️✨

a scene graph with zero SoClipPlane nodes in it uses six clipping planes to define the viewing frustum: top, bottom, left, right, near and far. but if you want extra clipping planes so you can "slice" the visible geometry? yeah, you do that with nodes of this type. and here's the vibe: geometry on the back side of the clipping plane gets clipped away. gone. not invited. 💅

ngl there's a catch tho — OpenGL implementations have a fixed maximum number of clipping planes available. so if you're wondering what that number is for your setup, you can use this code:

#include <Inventor/elements/SoGLClipPlaneElement.h>
// ...[snip]...
int maxplanes = SoGLClipPlaneElement::getMaxGLPlanes();

below is a simple, basic scene graph usage example of SoClipPlane 🎀 it connects an SoClipPlane to an SoCenterballDragger, so the end-user gets control over the orientation and position of the clipping plane. literally giving the user main character energy over the plane:

#Inventor V2.1 ascii

Separator {
   Separator {
      Translation { translation -6 0 0 }
      DEF cbdragger CenterballDragger { }
   }

   TransformSeparator {
      Transform {
         rotation 0 0 1 0 = USE cbdragger . rotation
         translation 0 0 0 = USE cbdragger . center
      }
      ClipPlane { }
   }

   Sphere { }
}

okay and the thing you need to know: SoClipPlane is a state-changing appearance node, and because of that it will only assert its effects under the current SoSeparator node (because the SoSeparator pops the state stack when traversal returns above it). you can witness this yourself by loading this simple example file into a Coin viewer 👀:

#Inventor V2.1 ascii

Separator {
   ClipPlane { }
   Cube { }
}

Separator {
   Translation { translation -3 0 0 }
   Cube { }
}
💀 fr fr, the second Cube does not get clipped, because the state got popped. that's the whole point of the example.

FILE FORMAT/DEFAULTS: 🦋

ClipPlane {
    plane 1 0 0  0
    on TRUE
}

🎀 Constructor & Destructor Documentation 🎀

SoClipPlane::SoClipPlane (void )

Constructor. ✨ (yes bestie, it makes one.)

SoClipPlane::~SoClipPlane () [protected], [virtual]

Destructor. 🫶 (and yes, it's protected, and yes, it's virtual.)

⭐ Member Function Documentation ⭐

SoType SoClipPlane::getClassTypeId (void ) [static]

this static method returns the SoType object associated with objects of this class. iykyk 💅

SoType SoClipPlane::getTypeId (void ) const [virtual]

returns the type identification of an object derived from a class inheriting SoBase. this is used for runtime type checking and "downward" casting. that's literally its job.

Implements SoBase.

Reimplemented in SoClipPlaneManip.

const SoFieldData ** SoClipPlane::getFieldDataPtr (void ) [static], [protected]

this API member is considered internal to the library, as it is not likely to be of interest to the application programmer. so like. not for you bestie, no offense 💜

Returns the SoFieldData class which holds information about fields in this node.

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

returns a pointer to the class-wide field data storage object for this instance. if no fields are present, returns NULL. 😭 (empty, nothing, nada.)

Reimplemented from SoFieldContainer.

Reimplemented in SoClipPlaneManip.

void SoClipPlane::doAction (SoAction * action) [virtual]

this function performs the typical operation of a node for any action. any of them. all of them. slay.

Reimplemented from SoNode.

Reimplemented in SoClipPlaneManip.

void SoClipPlane::GLRender (SoGLRenderAction * action) [virtual]

action method for the SoGLRenderAction. 🔥

this is called during rendering traversals. nodes influencing the rendering state in any way, or that want to throw geometry primitives at OpenGL, override this method. go off, throw those primitives.

Reimplemented from SoNode.

Reimplemented in SoClipPlaneManip.

void SoClipPlane::callback (SoCallbackAction * action) [virtual]

action method for SoCallbackAction. 🌸

simply updates the state according to how the node behaves for the render action, so the application programmer can use the SoCallbackAction for extracting information about the scene graph. cute, useful, iconic.

Reimplemented from SoNode.

Reimplemented in SoClipPlaneManip.

void SoClipPlane::pick (SoPickAction * action) [virtual]

action method for SoPickAction. 🎯

does common processing for SoPickAction action instances. periodt.

Reimplemented from SoNode.

Reimplemented in SoClipPlaneManip.

💜 Member Data Documentation 💜

SoSFPlane SoClipPlane::plane

definition of clipping plane. geometry on the back side of the clipping plane is clipped away. bye bye 👋

the default clipping plane has its normal pointing in the <1,0,0> direction, and intersects origo. (i.e., everything along the negative X-axis is clipped.)

SoSFBool SoClipPlane::on

whether clipping plane should be on or off. defaults to TRUE. ✅ so by default it's very much doing its thing.

🌈 Author 🌈

generated automatically by Doxygen for Coin from the source code. (not a human, just a lil robot doing its best 🧚)

and that's a wrap bestie 🫶 this was Coin version 4.0.10, dated Thu Jun 25 2026 00:00:00 — so if you're reading this, go clip some planes, stay on the right side of the frustum, and don't forget to pop your state stack 💅✨🍓

📦 where this page comes from