NAME

       SoEngine — base class for all engines

INHERITS FROM

       SoBase > SoFieldContainer > SoEngine

SYNOPSIS

       #include <Inventor/engines/SoEngine.h>

          Methods from class SoEngine:

     static SoType       getClassTypeId()
     virtual int         getOutputs(SoEngineOutputList &list) const
     SoEngineOutput *    getOutput(const SbName &outputName) const
     SbBool              getOutputName(const SoEngineOutput *output, SbName &outputName) const
     SoEngine *          copy() const
     static SoEngine *   getByName(const SbName &name)
     static int          getByName(const SbName &name, SoEngineList &list)

          Methods from class SoFieldContainer:

     void                setToDefaults()
     SbBool              hasDefaultValues() const
     SbBool              fieldsAreEqual(const SoFieldContainer *fc) const
     void                copyFieldValues(const SoFieldContainer *fc, SbBool copyConnections = FALSE)
     SbBool              set(const char *fieldDataString)
     void                get(SbString &fieldDataString)
     virtual int         getFields(SoFieldList &resultList) const
     virtual SoField *   getField(const SbName &fieldName) const
     SbBool              getFieldName(const SoField *field, SbName &fieldName) const
     SbBool              isNotifyEnabled() const
     SbBool              enableNotify(SbBool flag)

          Methods from class SoBase:

     void                ref()
     void                unref() const
     void                unrefNoDelete() const
     void                touch()
     virtual SoType      getTypeId() const
     SbBool              isOfType(SoType type) const
     virtual void        setName(const SbName &name)
     virtual SbName      getName() const

DESCRIPTION

       SoEngine is the abstract base class for all engines. Engines are objects used for animation and behavior.
       They  are  lightweight  objects  that  are  connected between nodes, the clock, and other engines to form
       interesting behaviorial objects (e.g., a spinning windmill).

       Engines are used to animate parts of a scene and/or to constrain one part of a scene in relation to  some
       other  part  of  the scene. An engine receives a number of input values, performs some operation on them,
       and then copies the results into one or more output fields. Both  the  inputs  and  the  outputs  can  be
       connected  to  other  fields or engines in the scene graph.  When an engine's output values change, those
       new values are sent to any fields or engines connected to them.

METHODS

     static SoType       getClassTypeId()
          Returns the type identifier for the SoEngine class.

     virtual int         getOutputs(SoEngineOutputList &list) const
          Returns a list of outputs in this engine. Use getOutputName to get the names of the outputs,  and  use
          SoEngineOutput::getConnectionType  to determine their types.

     SoEngineOutput *    getOutput(const SbName &outputName) const
          Returns  a  pointer  to  the  engine  output  with  the  given name. If no such output exists, NULL is
          returned.

     SbBool              getOutputName(const SoEngineOutput *output, SbName &outputName) const
          Returns (in outputName) the name of the engine output (output). Returns FALSE if the engine output  is
          not contained within the engine instance.

     SoEngine *          copy() const
          Creates  and  returns an exact copy of the engine. All connections to inputs are copied as is (without
          copying what's at the other end).

     static SoEngine *   getByName(const SbName &name)
     static int          getByName(const SbName &name, SoEngineList &list)
          Look up engine(s) by name.

FILE FORMAT/DEFAULTS

       This is an abstract class. See the reference page of a derived class for the format and default values.

SEE ALSO

       SoBoolOperation,    SoCalculator,    SoComposeMatrix,     SoComposeRotation,     SoComposeRotationFromTo,
       SoComposeVec2f,   SoComposeVec3f,   SoComposeVec4f,   SoComputeBoundingBox,   SoConcatenate,   SoCounter,
       SoDecomposeMatrix,    SoDecomposeRotation,    SoDecomposeVec2f,    SoDecomposeVec3f,    SoDecomposeVec4f,
       SoElapsedTime,  SoGate,  SoInterpolate, SoOnOff, SoOneShot, SoSelectOne, SoTimeCounter, SoTransformVec3f,
       SoTriggerAny

                                                                                                 SoEngine(3IV)()