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.