Unifying the 2D rendering backend via canvas
The FlightGear forum has a subforum related to: Canvas |
Background
The Canvas subsystem is flexible enough to re-implement existing 2D rendering related features, such as the HUD system or the 2D panel system, in scripting space, so that legacy C++ code can be incrementally replaced with a more accessible and more maintainable version in scripting space, i.e. as part of the base package - while ensuring that the 2D rendering backend is increasingly unified, using the Canvas subsystem as the common rendering backend.
The idea is to provide Nasal wrappers for these systems, which implement the existing behavior using the canvas system, so that the old C++ code can be eventually phased out. In particular, this means that wrappers for the following systems will be added:
- HUD: https://gitorious.org/fg/flightgear/trees/next/src/Instrumentation/HUD
- 2D PANEL: https://gitorious.org/fg/flightgear/blobs/next/src/Cockpit/
- GUI: https://gitorious.org/fg/flightgear/blobs/next/src/GUI/FGPUIDialog.cxx#line709
Note that the API-requirements will be pretty much identical for GUI widgets and MFD-screens with touch screen functionality, both features will need a way to deal with keyboard/mouse input.
Initially, the main focus will be on providing the infrastructure to enable people to develop widgets entirely in Nasal space. Once that is working, it will be possible to increasingly re-implement native PUI widgets in Canvas/Nasal space, so that PUI usage is increasingly reduced.
To ensure that the Canvas/GUI wrapper is flexible enough, we need to take a look at existing hard coded PUI dialogs/widgets, and make sure that these can be theoretically reimplemented using Canvas/Nasal, and add any missing hooks as required:
- property list widget: https://gitorious.org/fg/flightgear/blobs/next/src/GUI/property_list.cxx
- waypoint list widget: https://gitorious.org/fg/flightgear/blobs/next/src/GUI/WaypointList.cxx
- map widget: https://gitorious.org/fg/flightgear/blobs/next/src/GUI/MapWidget.cxx
This automatically means that PUI callbacks must be forwarded to Nasal, so that they can be implemented as Nasal callbacks.
Also, the Canvas subsystem should be powerful enough to allow re-implementing existing hard-coded od_gauge instruments, such as:
- dclgps: https://gitorious.org/fg/flightgear/blobs/next/src/Instrumentation/dclgps.cxx
- kln89: https://gitorious.org/fg/flightgear/trees/next/src/Instrumentation/KLN89
- groundradar: https://gitorious.org/fg/flightgear/blobs/next/src/Instrumentation/groundradar.cxx
- wxRadar: https://gitorious.org/fg/flightgear/blobs/next/src/Instrumentation/wxradar.cxx
- agradar: https://gitorious.org/fg/flightgear/blobs/next/src/Instrumentation/agradar.cxx
- NavDisplay: https://gitorious.org/fg/flightgear/blobs/next/src/Instrumentation/NavDisplay.cxx
We need to take a look at these instruments and their C++ code, to ensure that the Canvas API is sufficiently customizable to implement these and similar instruments purely in scripting space.
As of 07/2012 the navdb (including airports, runways etc) is fully exposed as part of the NasalPositioned module in $FG_SRC/Scripting: https://gitorious.org/fg/flightgear/blobs/next/src/Scripting/NasalPositioned.cxx