[vtkusers] C++ introspection (was raw buffer access in Tcl)

[David.Pont at ForestResearch.co.nz]

Hi,
   long ago Paul Rajlich put together a 'pipeline browser' in Tcl
      http://brighton.ncsa.uiuc.edu/prajlich/vtkPipeline/
The interesting thing about this was the (dynamic) creation of a GUI
interface to the methods in a filter (from Tcl), so you could interactively
manipuate filter settings and render to see the effect.
This leads to the observation that it would be very useful to have some
kind of GUI for pipeline construction, as well as run-time manipulation, ie
a 'pipeline editor'.
To be useful this would also require the ability to save/load filter
configuration (~'persistence').
The GUI interface and the save/load both require a uniform way of obtaining
the class interface, with types etc. and of invoking class methods.
It is beyond my patchy programming knowledge as to the best way to achieve
this, but my gut feeling is it would be best in the native vtk language,
C++. This could then be wrapped for other languages as per the core vtk.

I am not working on a pipeline editor, just wondering aloud how it might be
done...

  regards
     Dave Pont



|--------+--------------------------------->
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  |      To:     vtkusers <vtkusers at public.kitware.com>                                                        |
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  |      Subject:     Re: [vtkusers] C++ introspection (was raw buffer access in Tcl)                          |
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How do you propose that ability of C++ objects to publish their
architecture
would make pipeline development easier? As I understand it, one could
wrap
classes in CORBA-style mechanisms allowing objects to, in fact, allow
other objects to ask and use 'what's useful about you?' to a given
object.

This means that knowledge about what the parts do is available (at least
at procedural level).

Are you working on a pipeline edit system?

hv


David.Pont at ForestResearch.co.nz wrote:

I have thought for a while that if the vtk build process can
auto-generate
wrappers for other languages then why not for C++. This would give
'introspection' capabilities which would be very useful to make a vtk
pipeline editor...

 my 2c,   Dave Pont
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