Saphyre2 API

Saphyre2 API consists of a several entities that can be used by the applications to initialize, run and, query and modify the animation/simulation.

The API is designed with certain objectives, in approximately decreasing priority order:

• Robustness: The API should NOT allow the user to blow up Saphyre2. This privilege is only granted to the Core :)
• Intuitivity: Entities/Concepts manipulated by the App should be clear and their use in the App should follow a clear and consistent paradigm.
• Integrability: The App architecture shouldn't be overconstrained by the use of Saphyre2.

Robustness

The creation/destruction/modification of entities must take into account all the possible consequences in Saphyre2 Core and prevent illegal actions.

Several examples:

• Animated object creation/destruction must take into account the higher level structures in which they live (Universe).

• Methods for changing the configuration of animated objects from the App will need to be bullet-proof (mainly to avoid unstable constraint violations).

Intuitivity

I've decided to provide an Object Oriented API. This is mainly an aesthetic decision, so feel free to disagree and complain :)

Entities have member methods to perform all the operations that are intuitively local to them, even though internally other entities may need to be notified/used for some of these operations.

Integrability

The API Entities available to the applications are:

• UniverseAPI
• ParticleAPI
• RigidAPI
• Typical Mechanical Joints
  • HingeJointAPI (Rigid-Rigid/Axis)
  • BallJointAPI (Rigid-Rigid?)
• Generic Constraints
  • PointToPointAPI (Generic points on any Object)
  • ...

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