Transition to a graph-based API#2332
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HoloTheDrunk wants to merge 44 commits intoiTowns:masterfrom
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improve post-processing example shader
Add needsUpdate forward propagation
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This is still in early development and the PR was only created to improve the visibility of progress and allow discussion regarding the design of the new API.
Note: merge conflicts with #2300 will not be an issue given that most if not all of the work towards this goal is isolated in a new folder.
Description
This PR aims to expose a generic and extensible directed acyclic graph (DAG) API over iTowns' features.
This API should also expose ways to automatically optimize the graph.
The graph should be made in such a way as to allow the progressive coverage of iTowns' features.
As a side-effect, this PR also adds support for a progressive transition to TypeScript.
Motivation and Context
iTowns currently holds together through sheer willpower, hopes and dreams.
By creating a more user-friendly API that improves feature discoverability, we aim to progressively replace old interdependent code with a more functional style of isolated units of computation, guided by the constrained environment of a DAG.
This will ideally lead to an API reminiscent in concept of Blender, VTK, DaVinci Resolve and many other modern applications and libraries that have chosen a similar data flow representation for its simplicity and ease of use among other benefits.
Since graph nodes can contain arbitrarily complex code, this would also allow for easy higher-level API development by library users targeting non-technical users by simplifying the creation of no-code but still powerful visualization tools.
Example
The
examples/effects_postprocessing.htmlfile has been altered to use the new API, showcasing what it allows.The graph for that example ends up looking like this (generated by the included dot dumping utility methods):
Base
Optimized (only optimization available as PoC right now is screen shader merging)