3D Object Reference

This section is unfinished--please get involved in J3DWorkbench.
All 3D objects have an associated description that can be viewed by selecting the very first property in the Properties View.

CloneFactory

A CloneFactory is a special type of node, which copies its child node when enabled. A CloneFactory has no intrinsic visual existance on the scenegraph. The child of a CloneFactory becomes invisible when placed inside it. When the CloneFactory is activated, it copies its child, and places the copies onto the scenegraph. The CloneFactory manages the production and lifecycle of its clones.

For example, a CloneFactory can be configured to remove clones after a certain duration of time following their production. In addition, the CloneFactory can be configured to alter the rotation of each new clone produced, in effect 'spraying' them around. This behavior can be combined with InertialPhysics, or PositionInterpolators, in order to build particle systems. If the child of a CloneFactory is configured to be TRIGGERED_BY_PARENT, all copies of the child will be triggered 'ON' when they are produced by the CloneFactory.

NodeReference

A NodeReference is special type of node, which acts as a link to another, 'target' node. It can be created from the context menu in the Scenegraph View.

A NodeReference has no visable existance in the Canvas View. It is used to reference the state and value of another node--it will always be enabled/disabled when its target node is enabled/disabled. In addition, its 'value' will always reflect the value of its target node (recall that all nodes are associated with an arbitrary floating-point value). In this way, a NodeReference allows communication of state and value across different hierarchies in the scenegraph.

For example, imagine that a Shape3D node is configured to augment its value value when it collides with another object. If you create a NodeReference pointing to that Shape3D node, you could place that NodeReference in a completely different scenegraph hierarchy. For instance, the NodeReference could be a parent to a dynamic Text2D node, placed in a View, showing on its label the number of collisions that the target Shape3D has detected.