SoSwitch(3)

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

SoSwitch(3) 💅

okay so bestie, welcome to the Coin corner of the man pages — this is SoSwitch(3), and it's lowkey one of the most main-character nodes in the whole scene. ✨

✨ NAME ✨

SoSwitch — the class that's literally a group node whose whole entire job is picking one child subgraph to traverse. one. singular. it chooses, and that's the vibe. 👑

heads up babes: this page is a whole saga, so it comes in 3 parts — this is part 1. 🦋

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

ok bestie so first thing's first, here's the include you need to pull in before literally anything else works:

#include <Inventor/nodes/SoSwitch.h>

It inherits SoGroup.

It's inherited by SoBlinker. (iconic lineage honestly 💅)

💖 Public Member Functions

Here's the full lineup of methods this class is serving you — all of them, no gatekeeping:

virtual SoType getTypeId (void) const
SoSwitch (void)
SoSwitch (int numchildren)
virtual SbBool affectsState (void) const
virtual void doAction (SoAction *action)
virtual void callback (SoCallbackAction *action)
virtual void GLRender (SoGLRenderAction *action)
virtual void pick (SoPickAction *action)
virtual void getBoundingBox (SoGetBoundingBoxAction *action)
virtual void handleEvent (SoHandleEventAction *action)
virtual void getMatrix (SoGetMatrixAction *action)
virtual void search (SoSearchAction *action)
virtual void write (SoWriteAction *action)
virtual void getPrimitiveCount (SoGetPrimitiveCountAction *action)
virtual void audioRender (SoAudioRenderAction *action)
virtual void notify (SoNotList *nl)

That's a LOT of action handlers and honestly? She's booked and busy for a reason 🎀

🌸 Public Member Functions inherited from SoGroup

Everything below came free with the family, bestie — you didn't even have to ask:

SoGroup (void)
SoGroup (int nchildren)
virtual void addChild (SoNode *node)
virtual void insertChild (SoNode *child, int newchildindex)
virtual SoNode * getChild (int index) const
virtual int findChild (const SoNode *node) const
virtual int getNumChildren (void) const
virtual void removeChild (int childindex)
virtual void removeChild (SoNode *child)
virtual void removeAllChildren (void)
virtual void replaceChild (int index, SoNode *newchild)
virtual void replaceChild (SoNode *oldchild, SoNode *newchild)
virtual SoChildList * getChildren (void) const
virtual void addWriteReference (SoOutput *out, SbBool isfromfield=FALSE)

🦋 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 void GLRenderBelowPath (SoGLRenderAction *action)
virtual void GLRenderInPath (SoGLRenderAction *action)
virtual void GLRenderOffPath (SoGLRenderAction *action)
virtual void rayPick (SoRayPickAction *action)
virtual void grabEventsSetup (void)
virtual void grabEventsCleanup (void)
virtual void startNotify (void)
SbUniqueId getNodeId (void) const
virtual void writeInstance (SoOutput *out)
virtual SoNode * addToCopyDict (void) const
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)
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

And for isOfType, quick note bestie: it returns TRUE if the type of this object is either of the same type or inherited from type. periodt 🔥

⭐ Static Public Member Functions

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

initClass sets up initialization for data common to all instances of this class, like submitting necessary information to the Coin type system. 💫

💜 Static Public Member Functions inherited from SoGroup

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

Same deal here — initClass sets up initialization for data common to all instances of this class, like submitting necessary information 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)
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)

initClass here also sets up initialization for data common to all instances of this class, like submitting necessary information to the Coin type system. no cap 🫶

🍓 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)

initClass — sets up initialization for data common to all instances of this class, like submitting necessary information to the Coin type system.

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

✨ 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)

initClass — yep, you guessed it, sets up initialization for data common to all instances of this class, like submitting necessary information to the Coin type system.

getClassTypeId — this static method returns the SoType object associated with objects of this class.

👑 Public Attributes

SoSFInt32 whichChild

That's the one. The whole point of the class, honestly. 👑

🔒 Protected Member Functions

virtual const SoFieldData * getFieldData (void) const
virtual ~SoSwitch ()
void traverseChildren (SoAction *action)

💖 Protected Member Functions inherited from SoGroup

virtual ~SoGroup ()
virtual SbBool readInstance (SoInput *in, unsigned short flags)
virtual SbBool readChildren (SoInput *in)
virtual void copyContents (const SoFieldContainer *from, SbBool
    copyconnections)
virtual SoNotRec createNotRec (void)
void setOperation (const SoNotRec::OperationType
    opType=SoNotRec::UNSPECIFIED, const SoNode *cc=NULL, const SoNode
    *pc=NULL, const int ci=-1)

💖 Protected Member Functions inherited from SoNode

SoNode (void)
virtual ~SoNode ()

💖 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 SoGroup

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

Here's the big enum, bestie — every single value, exact, don't @ me:

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 SoGroup

SoChildList * children

💜 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
okay so that was a LOT of signatures and ngl your eyes might be glazing over, but bestie this is the full inheritance tea ☕ — every method, every flag, every default value, all sitting right there. Nothing skipped, nothing summarised. you're welcome 💅

and there's still more coming, so don't go anywhere 🌸

💖 Detailed Description 💖

okay so bestie, picture this: the SoSwitch class is a group node whose whole entire job is picking ONE child subgraph to traverse. that's it. that's the gig. ✨

which child gets traversed? that's on you, the application programmer, via the SoSwitch::whichChild field. and like — not only can you pick a single child to traverse, you can also flip ALL the children on or off for traversal. versatile icon behavior tbh. 👑

this node is so useful for conditionally turning parts of the scene graph on or off based on the current application processing mode, visualizing mode, or literally whatever else the app can do. it's giving main character energy for state-based scene management. 💅

🌸 FILE FORMAT/DEFAULTS 🌸

Switch {
    whichChild -1
}

🎀 Constructor & Destructor Documentation 🎀

✨ SoSwitch::SoSwitch (void ) ✨

default constructor. no notes. 💖

✨ SoSwitch::SoSwitch (int numchildren) ✨

constructor, bestie.

the argument should be the approximate number of children you expect to insert below this node. it does NOT need to be exact — it's only used as a hint so memory resource allocation can be a little smarter. think of it as a suggestion, not a contract. 🫶

✨ SoSwitch::~SoSwitch () ✨ [protected], [virtual]

destructor. bye babes 🦋

🌈 Member Function Documentation 🌈

⭐ SoType SoSwitch::getClassTypeId (void ) [static]

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

⭐ SoType SoSwitch::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. iykyk. 💅

  • reimplemented from SoGroup.
  • reimplemented in SoBlinker.

⭐ const SoFieldData ** SoSwitch::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. 🙈

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

⭐ const SoFieldData * SoSwitch::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 SoGroup.
  • reimplemented in SoBlinker.

⭐ SbBool SoSwitch::affectsState (void ) const [virtual]

returns TRUE if the node could have any effect on the state during traversal. 🔥

if it returns FALSE, no data in the traversal state will change from the pre-traversal state to the post-traversal state. the SoSeparator node will for instance return FALSE, since it pushes and pops the state before and after traversal of its children. all SoShape nodes will also return FALSE, because just pushing out geometry data to the rendering engine won't affect the actual rendering state. 💫

the default method returns TRUE, on a "better safe than sorry" philosophy. honestly? relatable. 😭

  • reimplemented from SoNode.

⭐ void SoSwitch::doAction (SoAction * action) [virtual]

this function performs the typical operation of a node for any action. one function, all the vibes. 🌟

  • reimplemented from SoGroup.

⭐ void SoSwitch::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. 🔍

  • reimplemented from SoGroup.

⭐ void SoSwitch::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. 🎨

  • reimplemented from SoGroup.

⭐ void SoSwitch::pick (SoPickAction * action) [virtual]

action method for SoPickAction.

does common processing for SoPickAction action instances. 👆

  • reimplemented from SoGroup.

⭐ void SoSwitch::getBoundingBox (SoGetBoundingBoxAction * action) [virtual]

action method for the SoGetBoundingBoxAction.

calculates bounding box and center coordinates for the node, and modifies the values of the action to encompass the bounding box for this node and to shift the center point for the scene more towards the one for this node. 📦

nodes influencing how geometry nodes calculate their bounding box also override this method to change the relevant state variables.

  • reimplemented from SoGroup.
  • reimplemented in SoBlinker.

⭐ void SoSwitch::handleEvent (SoHandleEventAction * action) [virtual]

action method for SoHandleEventAction.

inspects the event data from action, and processes it if it's something this node should react to. 💌

nodes influencing relevant state variables for how event handling is done also override this method.

  • reimplemented from SoGroup.

⭐ void SoSwitch::getMatrix (SoGetMatrixAction * action) [virtual]

action method for SoGetMatrixAction.

updates action by accumulating with the transformation matrix of this node (if any). 📐

  • reimplemented from SoGroup.

⭐ void SoSwitch::search (SoSearchAction * action) [virtual]

action method for SoSearchAction.

compares the search criteria from the action to see if this node is a match. searching is done by matching up all criteria set up in the SoSearchAction — if any of the requested criteria is a miss, the search is not deemed successful for the node. 🎯

see also:

  • SoSearchAction
  • reimplemented from SoGroup.

⭐ void SoSwitch::write (SoWriteAction * action) [virtual]

action method for SoWriteAction.

writes out a node object, and any connected nodes, engines etc, if necessary. ✍️

  • reimplemented from SoGroup.
  • reimplemented in SoBlinker.

⭐ void SoSwitch::getPrimitiveCount (SoGetPrimitiveCountAction * action) [virtual]

action method for the SoGetPrimitiveCountAction.

calculates the number of triangle, line segment and point primitives for the node, and adds these to the counters of the action. 🔢

nodes influencing how geometry nodes calculate their primitive count also override this method to change the relevant state variables.

  • reimplemented from SoGroup.

⭐ void SoSwitch::audioRender (SoAudioRenderAction * action) [virtual]

action method for SoAudioRenderAction.

does common processing for SoAudioRenderAction action instances. 🔊

  • reimplemented from SoGroup.

⭐ void SoSwitch::notify (SoNotList * l) [virtual]

notifies all auditors for this instance when changes are made. 📣

  • reimplemented from SoNode.
  • reimplemented in SoBlinker.

⭐ void SoSwitch::traverseChildren (SoAction * action) [protected]

this function was part of the original SGI Inventor API, but it is not supported in Coin, as it looks like it should probably have been private in Inventor. 😬 so like… don't, bestie.

👑 Member Data Documentation 👑

💜 SoSFInt32 SoSwitch::whichChild

selects which child to traverse during rendering (and some other) actions. this is THE field. the moment. ⭐

the value should be either:

  • SO_SWITCH_NONE — for traversing no children, like it was an empty SoGroup node
  • SO_SWITCH_ALL — for traversing like if we were an SoGroup node
  • SO_SWITCH_INHERIT — for traversing the same child as the last SoSwitch node
  • or an index value for a child

when using SO_SWITCH_INHERIT, it is important to understand how the SoSwitch-node is affected by other SoSwitch-nodes. if you have several switches in the scene graph, the last switch with its whichChild field set to anything but SO_SWITCH_INHERIT will be used. the switch does not only inherit from its parent switch node, but also from its siblings, located anywhere before it in the scene graph. an example will help clarify this, fr fr:

#Inventor V2.1 ascii

Separator {
  Switch {
    whichChild 0

    Group {
      Switch {
        whichChild 1
        BaseColor { rgb 1 0 0 } # red
        BaseColor { rgb 1 1 0 } # yellow
      }
      Switch {
        whichChild -2 # SO_SWITCH_INHERIT
        BaseColor { rgb 0 1 0 } # green
        BaseColor { rgb 0 0 1 } # blue
      }
      Cube { }
    }
  }
}

this results in a blue cube on the screen. the reason being that the value of the previous whichChild field was inherited by the final switch, making it select child 1 — the blue BaseColor. slay. 💙

when constructing ASCII Inventor files, the integer values for the keywords must be used instead of their names. they are -1 for SO_SWITCH_NONE, -2 for SO_SWITCH_INHERIT, and -3 for SO_SWITCH_ALL. memorize those, bestie, no cap. 🧠✨

default value for the field is SO_SWITCH_NONE.

🦋 Author 🦋

generated automatically by Doxygen for Coin from the source code. (not a human, just vibes 🤖💖)

okay that's a wrap on SoSwitch(3)!! 🎀 this page came to you from Coin, version 4.0.10, dated Thu Jun 25 2026 00:00:00. go forth and switch those children, bestie. mwah. 💅💖🫶

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