SOSFBITMASK(3iv)

💖 SoSFBitMask 💖

okay bestie, so SoSFBitMask is from the 3IV manual, and it's literally a single-value field that holds a whole set of bit flags. like, one field, many flags, one iconic little integer. 🎀

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✨ INHERITS FROM ✨

the family tree is giving legacy royalty:

SoField > SoSField > SoSFEnum > SoSFBitMask

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

first things first, you gotta pull it in:

#include <Inventor/fields/SoSFBitMask.h>

🦋 Methods from class SoSFBitMask

these are the ones SoSFBitMask brings to the group chat:

static SoType       getClassTypeId()
virtual void        getTypeId() const
int                 getValue() const
void                setValue(int newValue)
int                 operator =(int newValue)
int                 operator ==(const SoSFBitMask &f) const
int                 operator !=(const SoSFBitMask &f) const

🧚 Methods from class SoField

and these are inherited from the mothership, SoField:

void                setIgnored(SbBool ignore)
SbBool              isIgnored() const
SbBool              isDefault() const
virtual SbBool      isOfType(SoType type) const
SbBool              set(const char *valueString)
void                get(SbString &valueString)
void                touch()
SbBool              connectFrom(SoField *fromField)
SbBool              connectFrom(SoEngineOutput *fromEngine)
void                disconnect()
SbBool              isConnected() const
SbBool              isConnectedFromField() const
SbBool              getConnectedField(SoField *&writingField) const
SbBool              isConnectedFromEngine() const
SbBool              getConnectedEngine(SoEngineOutput *&engineOutput)
                         const
void                enableConnection(SbBool flag)
SbBool              isConnectionEnabled() const
int                 getForwardConnections(SoFieldList &list) const
SoFieldContainer *  getContainer() const

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👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

so basically: it's a single-value field holding a mask of bit flags, and it's stored as an integer. simple. elegant. lowkey genius.

the nodes that use this field class define mnemonic names for the bit flags. bestie, use those names when you're setting or testing the values of the field — even though the methods themselves treat everything as integers. iykyk.

when you're testing and setting flags in a mask, you want the bit-wise & and | operators. periodt. for example, say you wanna turn on the sides of a 3D text node and turn off the back — you'd write:

text3->parts = text3->parts.getValue() | SoText3::SIDES;
text3->parts = text3->parts.getValue() & ~SoText3::BACK;

and when they get written to file, SoSFBitMasks show up as one or more mnemonic enumerated type names, in this format:

( flag1 | flag2 | ... )

if there's only one flag in the mask, the parentheses are optional. no cap. but heads up — these names differ depending on where this field gets used across the various node or engine classes, so go check their man pages for the actual names. 🙈

also, the field values can be represented as integers too, but that is not guaranteed to be portable. so like, do it if you want, but don't come crying to me when it breaks on another machine. 💀

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💅 METHODS 💅

• static SoType getClassTypeId()
• virtual void getTypeId() const — returns the type for this class, or for a particular object of this class. the vibe check of types, basically.
• int getValue() const — returns this field's value. that's it, that's the whole thing. 🫶
• void setValue(int newValue)
• int operator =(int newValue) — sets this field to newValue. slay.
• int operator ==(const SoSFBitMask &f) const
• int operator !=(const SoSFBitMask &f) const — returns TRUE if f is of the same type and has the same value as this field. two conditions, both required, no exceptions bestie.

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

go read these next, they're all part of the same friend group:

• SoField
• SoSField
• SoMFBitMask

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and that's the whole page, bestie!! this was SoSFBitMask(3IV) from the 3IV manual, and the source/version + date info was sitting right there in the footer — so consider this my little sign-off: mwah, go forth and mask those bits responsibly. 💖✨🎀🦋