SoDirectionalLight(3)

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

💡 SoDirectionalLight(3) — Coin 💡

Bestie, welcome to the manual page for SoDirectionalLight — the node that's literally in charge of directional light sources in Coin. It's giving "I shine, therefore I am" ✨. This page is part 1 of 2, so buckle up, we're about to get into all the deets.

📛 NAME

SoDirectionalLight — the class that specifies directional light sources. Periodt.

🛠️ SYNOPSIS

#include <Inventor/nodes/SoDirectionalLight.h>

Inherits SoLight.

Inherited by SoDirectionalLightManip, and SoShadowDirectionalLight.

🌟 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)
  • 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) — does the whole setup for data common to all instances of this class, like sending the necessary deets to the Coin type system so everything's registered 💅

✨ Static Public Member Functions inherited from SoLight

  • static SoType getClassTypeId (void)
  • static void initClass (void) — same vibe: sets up initialization for data common to all instances of this class, like submitting the necessary info to the Coin type system ✨

✨ 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

  • 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
  • virtual SoNotRec createNotRec (void)

🛡️ 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, 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
Part 2 is coming, bestie — we're not done yet! 💖

🌈 Detailed Description 💡

okay bestie, so the SoDirectionalLight class is a node type for specifying directional light sources. that's the whole vibe 💅

a directional light source is basically a model of light sources that are at infinite distance from the geometry they illuminate — so like, they have no set position and they're made of an infinite volume of parallel rays. iconic behavior honestly ✨

and yes, this is a simplified model of far-away light sources, because "infinite distance" is literally impossible 🫠 (physics said no).

the sun shining on objects on earth? that's the perfect example of something you can model pretty darn well for most common purposes with a directional light source. ☀️

also, fr fr — go check the documentation of the parent class for important info about light sources in general. not a vibe skip. 🙈

FILE FORMAT/DEFAULTS:

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

a super common thing to do with an SoDirectionalLight is to connect it to a camera so it works in the style of a head light for that camera 🎥✨ you do this by linking 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, no gatekeeping:

#Inventor V2.1 ascii

DEF mycam PerspectiveCamera { }

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

Cube { }

(and the SoTransformSeparator is there to keep the effect of the SoRotation node inside a scope where it'll only influence the light, and not the geometry that comes after the light in the scene graph. scope queen behavior 👑)

🛠️ Constructor & Destructor Documentation

🌱 SoDirectionalLight::SoDirectionalLight (void )

Constructor. it makes the thing 💖

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

Destructor. it un-makes the thing 😭 protected and virtual, as one does.

✨ Member Function Documentation ✨

🔖 SoType SoDirectionalLight::getClassTypeId (void ) [static]

this static method returns the SoType object associated with objects of this class. very demure, very static 🎀

🏷️ SoType SoDirectionalLight::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. 🔍

  • Reimplemented from SoLight.
  • Reimplemented in SoDirectionalLightManip, and SoShadowDirectionalLight.

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

this API member is considered internal to the library, since it's not likely to be of interest to the application programmer. 👀

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

📦 const SoFieldData * SoDirectionalLight::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. 🫶

  • Reimplemented from SoLight.
  • Reimplemented in SoDirectionalLightManip, and SoShadowDirectionalLight.

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

action method for the SoGLRenderAction.

this gets called during rendering traversals. nodes that influence the rendering state in any way, or that want to throw geometry primitives at OpenGL, override this method. 🖌️🔥

  • Reimplemented from SoNode.
  • Reimplemented in SoDirectionalLightManip, and SoShadowDirectionalLight.

💾 Member Data Documentation 💾

🧭 SoSFVec3f SoDirectionalLight::direction

the direction of the light source. defaults to pointing along the negative Z-axis. 🦋

✍️ Author

generated automatically by Doxygen for Coin from the source code. (not me writing a novel, the robot did it 🤖💜)

and that's a wrap bestie!! 🎀 this was Version 4.0.10, dated Thu Jun 25 2026 00:00:00, for SoDirectionalLight(3) — slay, go light up some geometry, and remember: infinite distance isn't real but your shaders can be 💅✨🌈

📦 where this page comes from