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| author | neodarz <neodarz@neodarz.net> | 2018-08-11 20:21:34 +0200 |
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| committer | neodarz <neodarz@neodarz.net> | 2018-08-11 20:21:34 +0200 |
| commit | 0ea5fc66924303d1bf73ba283a383e2aadee02f2 (patch) | |
| tree | 2568e71a7ccc44ec23b8bb3f0ff97fb6bf2ed709 /cvs/cvsweb.cgi/code/nel/doc/whitepaper.dxt?rev=1.17&content-type=text/x-cvsweb-markup&sortby=log/index.html | |
| download | nevrax-website-self-hostable-0ea5fc66924303d1bf73ba283a383e2aadee02f2.tar.xz nevrax-website-self-hostable-0ea5fc66924303d1bf73ba283a383e2aadee02f2.zip | |
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diff --git a/cvs/cvsweb.cgi/code/nel/doc/whitepaper.dxt?rev=1.17&content-type=text/x-cvsweb-markup&sortby=log/index.html b/cvs/cvsweb.cgi/code/nel/doc/whitepaper.dxt?rev=1.17&content-type=text/x-cvsweb-markup&sortby=log/index.html new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d11338de --- /dev/null +++ b/cvs/cvsweb.cgi/code/nel/doc/whitepaper.dxt?rev=1.17&content-type=text/x-cvsweb-markup&sortby=log/index.html @@ -0,0 +1,286 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"><HTML> +<HEAD><style> A { color:black }</style> +<!-- hennerik CVSweb $Revision: 1.93 $ --> +<TITLE>code/nel/doc/whitepaper.dxt - view - 1.17</TITLE></HEAD> +<BODY BGCOLOR="#eeeeee"> +<table width="100%" border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=1 bgcolor="#aaaaaa"><tr valign=bottom><td><a href="whitepaper.dxt?sortby=log"><IMG SRC="http://www.nevrax.org/inc/img/picto-up.gif" ALT="[BACK]" BORDER="0" WIDTH="14" HEIGHT="13"></a> <b>Return to <A HREF="whitepaper.dxt?sortby=log">whitepaper.dxt</A> + CVS log</b> <IMG SRC="http://www.nevrax.org/inc/img/picto-news.gif" ALT="[TXT]" BORDER="0" WIDTH="13" HEIGHT="15"></td><td align=right><IMG SRC="http://www.nevrax.org/inc/img/picto-dir.gif" ALT="[DIR]" BORDER="0" WIDTH="15" HEIGHT="13"> <b>Up to <a href="/cvs/cvsweb.cgi/?sortby=log">Nevrax</a> / <a href="/cvs/cvsweb.cgi/code/?sortby=log">code</a> / <a href="/cvs/cvsweb.cgi/code/nel/?sortby=log">nel</a> / <a href="/cvs/cvsweb.cgi/code/nel/doc/?sortby=log">doc</a></b></td></tr></table><HR noshade><table width="100%"><tr><td bgcolor="#ffffff">File: <a href="/cvs/cvsweb.cgi/?sortby=log">Nevrax</a> / <a href="/cvs/cvsweb.cgi/code/?sortby=log">code</a> / <a href="/cvs/cvsweb.cgi/code/nel/?sortby=log">nel</a> / <a href="/cvs/cvsweb.cgi/code/nel/doc/?sortby=log">doc</a> / <a href="/cvs/cvsweb.cgi/code/nel/doc/whitepaper.dxt?sortby=log">whitepaper.dxt</a> (<A HREF="/cvs/cvsweb.cgi/~checkout~/code/nel/doc/whitepaper.dxt?rev=1.17&sortby=log" target="cvs_checkout" onClick="window.open('/cvs/cvsweb.cgi/~checkout~/code/nel/doc/whitepaper.dxt?rev=1.17','cvs_checkout','resizeable,scrollbars');"><b>download</b></A>)<BR> +Revision <B>1.17</B>, <i>Thu Apr 11 07:29:48 2002 UTC</i> (3 months ago) by <i>lecroart</i> +<BR>Branch: <b>MAIN</b> +<BR>CVS Tags: <b>georges_v2, HEAD</b><BR>Changes since <b>1.16: +1 -1 + lines</b><PRE> +CHANGED: using .png instead of .gif +</PRE> +</td></tr></table><HR noshade><PRE>/** + +\page general NeL Whitepaper +\author Vincent Archer + +The purpose of this document is to present a general overview of the whole of the +NeL infrastructure. After reading this document, you should have a good understanding +of how NeL is structured, what parts compose it, why these parts are there, and how +they are intended to be used for the building of a finished product. + +This is not an interface description or a programming manual. These interface +descriptions are generated using the Doxygen documentation tool, and separate +general interface description documents for each component are provided. There is also a +separate global programming manual, describing exactly how to code for a complete product +using NeL components. + +The NeL library is further divided into a few libraries: network, ai, 3d and misc. If you want +to use ai, 3d or network you also need to use the misc part of the library. Ai, 3d and network are +totally independant from each other so you can use only the parts you really need in your project. + +A good example is the platform Nevrax intends to use NeL for. That platform uses the +following architecture: + +\image html architect.png + +\section build Building system + +Building systems are very different, depending on whether you work on a Windows/Visual +C++ environment, or a Unix/g++ environment (the two development environments currently +supported in the official NeL system). + +The building system reflects this and thus consists of two different subsystems: + +\subsection unixbuild Unix build + +Building the NeL system in a Unix-based environment uses the auto-configure system +that is pretty much a standard in GNU tools and other environment-portable packages. The +NeL library top level thus has a configure.in, which autoconf/autoheader turns into +the classic configure script. + +That directory, and all its subdirectories, has a Makefile.am, which automake uses to +generate a set of Makefile.in. All modifications (notably adding source files) are made +into the Makefile.am files themselves, and never to Makefile.in or Makefile. The .am +template is stored in the CVS tree, but not the rest. A full regeneration of the files +must be done after a checkout. + +\subsection winbuild Windows build + +First, you need to have visual c++ (VC++) version 6 and at least VC++ service pack 4. +Only .dsp (project) files and .dsw (workspace) are stored in the CVS tree. All +other specific visual c++ files are automatically created in the build process. +To build NeL, you have to start vc++ and load the nel workspace and compile +all projects contained in the workspace. Each project create a .lib (library) file in +the lib directory. + +Other compilation environments on a Windows system may be possible, but are not currently +supported. + +\section components Components + +\subsection component3d 3D library + +The purpose of the 3D Library is to provide a graphical view of a full 3D Universe. It +is not based on a pre-existing high-level library because of specific constraints on the +final environment to render, which consists of large landscapes with smooth natural +features and lots of objects. + +To achieve this objective, the library implements several techniques: + +- Geometry: + - The ROAM algorithm, which provides an adaptative subdivision of the landscape base + depending on various parameters like distance, steepness of the landscape, etc. + - Use of Bezier Patches to create smooth-looking landscapes + - Multi-Resolution Meshes, to provide a smooth reduction in polygon count as objects + retreat further in distance, details degree and so on + - Object Interfaces, which allows the correct assembly of multiple "parts" of objects + into a single mesh without leaving unconnected parts or holes +- Rendering: + - Bump Mapping of surfaces for more natural-looking textures + - Environment Map for metal like surface + - Support of User Colors (specific areas in textures tagged for replacement with a + program-defined color upon rendering) + - Full hardware Transform and Lighting support + - Hardware Pixel Shaders and Vertex Shaders +- Animation: + - Skinning, using a base skeleton for animations + - Blended Shapes, to provide lip-sync style animations + - Inverse kinematics + - Blend of animations to provide smooth transitions between various animations +- Low level services: + - Object streaming, to provide a transparent load-on-demand, including the multi- + resolution meshes + - Object Picking in a scene + +The 3d library works best with a set of 3DSMax plug-ins to generate data for use with the +software. + +The 3d library itself is organised in three successive layers: + +- Layer 1, or driver layer, which implements the effective 3D operations. This is + highly API and platform-dependent. Right now, an OpenGL driver is provided, but a + directX would not require much effort. +- Layer 2, or object layer, which implements the various objects (landscapes, meshes + light and so on) and rendering. +- Layer 3, or high level layer, which provide the spatial manipulation and the + necessary interfaces to create the whole scene, and modify it according to the model + of your universe. It manages the scene graph depending of the needs of the environment. + +Modification of the layer 1 should be very rare, as it is the most stable part of the +NeL 3D library. New extensions to OpenGL or new drivers will require intervention in +that layer. + +Modification of the layer 2 occurs only if you create new object types, such as special +smooth surfaces not based on Bezier Patches, different styles of animations, and so on. + +Modification of the layer 3 is reserved to changes in the whole predicate on which the +NeL library is based, as it is where objects are created and removed, their properties +altered, according to the necessities of the 3D universe. + +\subsection componentai Artificial Intelligence + +The purpose of the AI library is to provide a pragmatic approach to creating a distributed +agents platform. Its focus is agents; individual entities that communicate regardless of +location, using an action-reaction model. + +The ai library provide three different categories of concepts: + +- Autonomous agents + - Basic components that can be assembled to build an agent + - Messages that can be sent between agents + - Triggers +- A dedicated scripting language + - Based on a virtual machine approach (similar to Java) + - Object oriented, with a strong agent flavor + - Declarative rather than procedural (allows to define sets of actions, then select + among them which one to take) +- Basic AI techniques + - Pathfinding in a 3D universe (animated objects may have different paths depending on + their physical abilities) + - Basic expert system framework + - Order-1 logic + - Fuzzy logic operations + - Evolutive algorithms + +The ai library offers three different layers of code: + +- Layer 1, or base classes layer, which implements the basic classes, and all the basic + AI techniques available to agents +- Layer 2, or agent layer, which provides the base agent, and the components used to + build an agent +- Layer 3, or scripting layer, which defines the scripting language, the virtual machine, + and allows the programmer to create, assemble and define agent behaviours. This is where + the AI programmer acts to create specific agents. + +Modification of the layer 1 should be very infrequent, and occur only if someone wants +to add new AI techniques, or alter the communication layers between agents. + +Modification of the layer 2 occurs only if you want to create different agent types. In +general, this is not necessary; the set of agents implemented in the layer 2 is assumed +to be adequate to cover all bases. + +Modification of the layer 3 is where one may add new functionalities to the scripting +language, such as allowing to call other scripts (in Python, Perl, or whatever langage) +or external compiled code. + +\subsection componentdb Database & File + +The storage library provides access to hard drive files. It provides an API for general +use based on a serialize class. All class can be serializable by inheriting a base class. +Doing this enable the class to be serialized on every type of streams, which could be memory streams, +file streams, network streams and so on. It is a full extensible system that allow NeL to +add new complex streams like compressed file stream or distributed file stream. + +The database is managed by a third party library. It could be either an object oriented +database (OODBMS) that support transparent object storage and access, security and backup +system, or a classical relational database. The decision to orient the architecture toward +one or the other isn't yet set in stone. +The NeL database interface merely provides access to that specific database, +but NeL does not require any specific kind of database to be useable. + +\subsection componentnet Network + +The network library serves a twofold purpose. It provides inter-process communication, +and service system. + +In purely network terms, the library offers 4 layers: + +- An abstraction of the network API and links (IPC may be across a network, or local + messaging) +- Handling of asynchronous message passing, and callbacks +- An abstraction of destination (you address a service, not an IP/Port) +- A buffering and structuring of messages with generic serialization system + +These network layers are reused to build distributed services. The network library +presents both a generic service skeleton, which includes the base functions of the +distributed service: + +- Initialisation (reading configuration file, reading command line parameters) +- Creation and registration of callbacks for network layer 2 +- Registration to the naming service for the layer 3 + +The library will also provide pre-existing services: + +- Naming service (1 per logical cluster) + - This service handles the association between a service and the process or processes + that execute code to provide the service. Each service is registered with an ip and + a port + - Handles load balancing + - Manage all the cluster connections +- Logging service (1 per logical cluster) + - Centralizing all log messages and statistics needed by the Naming service and + Admin service +- Admin service (1 per logical cluster) + - The entry point for the cluster administrator. Enable the control all the cluster like + adding new service, close services, get cluster states, logging informations and so on. +- Admin Executor service (1 per physical computer) + - These services get statistics of the computer and send them for the Admin service via + the Logging service. They also executes all Admin service requests. +- World service (n per logial cluster) + - Manages agents and all the game systems created by AI. + +Finally, the network library also proposes some basic function that are required to +build a service able to "run" a 3D Universe, such as: + +- Fast communication across unreliable long-delay networks +- Dead reckoning that enable smooth moves on a slow Internet connection + +The purely network library is typically self-contained, and not much subject to +modification, unless one wants to change the entire paradigm around which the platform +runs. Addition of a specific and non-standard network or network API would be the only +reason one would change layer 1. + +The service system provides an easy way to add new specifical service needed by +the universe. + +The structure of distributed services is the point that requires the most attention, +as these define the logical structure of a cluster. + +Fine-tuning the basic network services is probably the place where most modifications can +be made. + +\subsection componentpython Python scripting + +Python is currently considered as the tool that will bind all the components from NeL +and the client or server together. + +\subsection componentsys System + +This library section deals with all the system-dependent aspects of the NeL library. +It handles interfaces with the system functions, such as starting processes, managing +system resources, thread class, sound management, keyboard and mouse inputs and so on. + +\subsection componentmisc Miscellaneous + +This contains all the various utility functions, classes and objects that are not +complex and large enough to warrant their own separate component, yet are fundamental +to the function of the NeL platform. + +It contains, for example, debug features, smart pointers, internationalization system, +math classes, generic streaming system, and so on. + +\section externals External components + +The following external components are used to build the NeL system. These components +are either included directly in the NeL system and are available immediately when +extracting the NeL source tree, while others are kept separate, and require you to +obtain them separately prior to building NeL. + +- Autoconfig & Automake : The GNU standard configuration tools for Open Source development. +- STLPorts (www.stlport.org) +- FreeType2 (www.freetype.org) + + */</PRE>
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