2012 02 14 GC Principles

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated
GenerativeComponents Principles
Valentines Day 2012 Volker Mueller
Research Director
GenerativeComponents Principles
A quick introduction to the most important things you need to know about GC Status:GC 8.11.9.93
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Originally inspired by Ben Dohertys
generative components theoretical frameworks

the stuff you need to know
www.notionparallax.co.uk
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A Starting Point and Grounding in Space

Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum [fixed point in space] on which to place it, and I shall move the world. Archimedes
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GenerativeComponents is a change propagation system. Changes are propagated through a dependency graph (the Graph). Graph is directed and acyclic = directed acyclic graph = DAG. Graph needs a (logical) starting point = baseCS.
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A Starting Point
Theoretical geometry gives us an infinite universe as a blank canvas. There is no inherent concept of up, or of where we are in this space.
We add a grid to provide some orientation.
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Theoretical geometry gives us an infinite universe as a blank canvas. There is no inherent concept of up, or of where we are in this space.
We add a grid to provide some orientation. We add a coordinate system baseCS to provide A Starting Point for the geometry, too.
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The most common way of describing space is the Cartesian grid with {X, Y, Z} coordinate triples.
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The positive direction of the Z axis is considered up in infrastructure design.
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A CoordinateSystem in GC determines
(a) A location (X, Y, Z), often at X, Y, and Z = 0 for the baseCS.
(a) A location (X, Y, Z), often at X, Y, and Z = 0 for the baseCS. (b) Three axes, normal to each other.
(a) A location (X, Y, Z), often at X, Y, and Z = 0 for the baseCS. (b) Three axes, normal to each other. (c) Three planes, spanned by pairs of the X, Y, Z direction vectors for 3 planes (XY, XZ, YZ), therefore, perpendicular to each other (b).
Planes and their normals have the same color-coding.
The yellow line indicates the currently active plane.
Planes and their normals have the same color-coding.
It is the Starting Point for the geometric model.
This is a GC CoordinateSystem.
It is the Starting Point for the geometric model. and for the Graph.
It is the Starting Point for the geometric model. and for the Graph.
Populating the Model View & Populating the Graph

Graph & Model View show the same Model
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direct modeling point, plane, coordinate system placement.
old fashioned placement through New Node task.
Provide inputs through graphic selection of Nodes or Geometry.
old fashioned placement through New Node task.
(future Node palette.)
Drag and drop from New Node pane to Graph.
(future Node palette.)
No dropping into model
Drag and drop from New Node pane to Graph.
drag
drop
wire
wire
generate result
generate result
3 Modes
Model, Graph, GC-Script
1: Model
2: Graph
2
1: Model
2: Graph 3: Editable input properties / expressions.
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1: Model
2: Graph 3: Editable input properties / expressions.
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1: Model
2: Graph 3: Editable input properties / expressions. Editable Transaction Script.
3 2 33 1
3 Methods
Left to right, right to left, hybrid
Left to right
Left to right
Left to right
Left to right
Left to right
Left to right
Right to left
Right to left
Right to left
Right to left
Right to left
Right to left
Right to left
Right to left
Any which way
Any which way
Any which way
Any which way
Any which way
Any which way
Any which way
Any which way
Any which way
Any which way
Any which way
Any which way
Relationships/Dependencies
Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) Propagation System
Dependency Graph.
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Dependency Graph.
We are interested in relationships, not just where and how big things are.
Dependency Graph.
We are interested in relationships, not just where and how big things are. Move point01 and cone01 as well as line01 move, too.
Dependency Graph.
We are interested in relationships, not just where and how big things are. Move point01 and cone01 as well as line01 move, too.
Input?
Graphic or typing?
Like a spreadsheet.
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Like a spreadsheet.
5
5+2 Sin(5)
Expression go into this box.

Value Simple expression
Single values. Simple expressions. Functions
Function
Like a spreadsheet.
5
5+2 Sin(5)

Single values. Simple expressions. Functions drag & drop
Function
Like a spreadsheet.
5
5+2 Sin(5)

Single values. Simple expressions. Functions drag & drop
Function
Like a spreadsheet.
5
5+2 Sin(5) (1/Sin(5)) + 90

Single values. Simple expressions. Functions drag & drop Complex expressions follow BODMAS
Function Complex expression
B O
( )
Brackets first Orders (Powers, Roots) Division and Multiplication (left to right) Addition and Subtraction (left to right) xy Pow(x,y)
2
DM / * AS + Power: Root:
3
expl. x Pow(x,0.5)
x Sqrt(x) x Pow(x,(1/3))
B O
( )
Brackets first Orders (Powers, Roots) Division and Multiplication (left to right) Addition and Subtraction (left to right) = = = ? ? ?
DM / * AS + -
15 / ( 3 + 2) 15 / 3 + 2 ( 15 / 3) + 2
B O
( )
Brackets first Orders (Powers, Roots) Division and Multiplication (left to right) Addition and Subtraction (left to right) = = = 3 7 7
DM / * AS + -
15 / ( 3 + 2) 15 / 3 + 2 ( 15 / 3) + 2
IN COMPUTING, THERE ARE NEVER TOO MANY ROUND BRACKETS
5
5+2 Sin(5) (1/Sin(5)) + 90 dave dave*2
Value
dave = 8
Once a variable is defined (named) it can take on a value and be used in place of a value.
Simple expression
Function Complex expression
Dave < > dave
Named variable
Expression with named variable
Objects
Everything is an object
Including variables.
dave = 8
In computing, objects are not equal. They have Type.
Almost everything shown so far has been an object.
Types
What objects are
Each kind of freight requires a matching kind of freight car. Computers are similarly picky, they only deal with what they have been prepared to handle. In some computer languages, type declares the what of a data object.
Data come in different kinds, like freight on a train.
simple variable types and
classes = GC feature types
GC uses two categories of type:
bool (Boolean) int (integer) double string
true, false whole numbers (0, 5, -4, 1000, -503) real or decimal numbers (0.5, -7.8, 15.0, 158.543679789) some text (hello world, 450, dave)
Simple variable types (selection)
Object-oriented computing implements the idea that data and their methods are bundled in packages, as classes.
A Class is a data type that includes the methods that construct (create and initialize) instances, manipulate the data contained in them, and destruct them at end of their lifecycle.
Data contained in a class instance may be exposed as instance properties.
Methods also determine how class instances behave, i.e. how they react to changes of their properties.
In GC classes are called features; methods are called techniques.
Classes
Point Plane CoordinateSystem Direction Line Curve BSplineSurface Solid Generated Feature Type
GCs feature type point
GCs combination of point, directions, planes GCs ray

one-dimensional feature type with 0 to 1 parameterization
user defined feature type composed from other features
GC feature types (selection)
GC node types
GC node types
now also non-feature node types
GC node types
Properties
How objects are
Features have properties. They can be simple variable types or sub-features. The dot operator (via dotNet, Microsoft) accesses feature.properties. Property myCoordinateSystem.Name = point01 myCoordinateSystem.XYPlane.X = 5.35 myCoordinateSystem.XYPlane.IsReplicated = false Type string double bool(ean)
feature
dot operator sub-feature
property
Properties
Properties
GC features have input properties and output properties.
They are accessed through the Inputs and Outputs port editors on a features node.
Properties
Properties
Properties
Properties
Properties
Properties Ports
Default input properties for the active technique are visible as ports to which connections can be made.
Properties Ports
They are pinned by default.
Properties Ports
Additional input ports may be pinned to the node.
Properties Ports
Properties Ports
Properties Ports
Properties Ports
Default output port is the feature itself.
Additional output properties may be exposed as ports pinned to the node, too.
Properties Ports
Additional output properties may be exposed as ports pinned to the node, too.
Properties Ports
Casting and Interfaces

Flexibility in Relationships
Object-oriented computing is very strict about membership in a class or feature type.
However, you can sometimes stuff one data type into another slot (casting) but the type is generally a good hint as to what is required.
There are some specific casting functions.
In GC, casting works only for simple variable types, not for feature types.
Casting and Interfaces
Interfaces draw on similar properties and methods of feature types to let us use one feature type in place of another one.
This softens the class boundaries for more flexible modeling options. Interfaces are prefixed with an I.
CoordinateSystem is like a Point because of X,Y,Z location. Plane is like a Direction because of Planes normal vector. Etc.
Plane is like a Point because of X,Y,Z location.
Lists
Collecting stuff, retrieving it, and leveraging its power
{,,,,,,}
[0] [1] [2] [3]
Things in a list are indexed from 0.
[4]
Indexing uses Square Brackets [ ]

List length counts how many items are in the list, starting with 1 (here it is 5).
Lists
Type Curly Brackets { } to define a list.
[0]
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
Lists can be of different types.
Lists
Lists can have empty containers (null).
dave = {A,B,C,D,E,F,G}
[0] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Then we can refer to any item of that list individually by its index. Remember to count indices from 0.
dave[4] = ?
dave[4] = E
Lists
If we declare a variable called dave as a list having the contents {A,B,C,D,E,F,G}
Multiple Dimensions
Geometry and data
Geometry
Reduction through intersections
Data
0 1 2 3
Dimensions
Lists use nested Curly Brackets { } to indicate dimensionality of their nesting (property: List.Rank).
0d a1 1d {a1,a2,a3} 2d {{a1,a2,a3},{b1,b2},{c1,c2,c3,c4}} 3d {{{a1,a2,a3,a4,a5},{b1,b2}}, {{{c1,c2,c3},{d1,d2,d3,d4,d5,d6}}, {{{e1},{f1,f2},{g1,g2,g2}}, {{{h1,h2,h3,h4},{i1,i2,i3},{j1,j2}}} Nd {{{{{a,a,a},{b,b}},{c,c,c}}},{d,d,d},{{{e}}}, etc }
Multi-Dimensional Lists
Replication
The Power of Lists in GenerativeComponents
That is how youd expect it to work from experience.
REPLICATION
This circles radius is defined using a single value.
Lists are really where the power of GC kicks in.
{3,4,4.5,5}
REPLICATION
This circles radius is defined using a list.
{3,4,4.5,5}
REPLICATION
{3,4,4.5,5}
REPLICATION
(repl.) = replicatable
XTranslation: double (repl.)
2
YTranslation: double (repl.)
{2,4,6,8}
[0] [1] [2] [3]
[0]
[1]
[2]
[3]
{2,4,6,8}
[0] [1] [2] [3]
[0]
[1]
[2]
[3]
{2,4,6,8}
[0] [1] [2] [3]
{2,4,6,8,10,12}
[0] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
[0]
[1]
[2]
[3]
{2,4,6,8}
[0] [1] [2] [3]
Toggle Replication ReplicationOption.CorrespondingIndexing

[0][3]
[1][3]
[2][3]
[3][3]
[4][3]
[5][3]
[0][2] XTranslation: double (repl.) [0][1]
[1][2]
[2][2]
[3][2]
[4][2]
[5][2]
[1][1]
[2][1]
[3][1]
[4][1]
[5][1]
{2,4,6,8,10,12}
[0] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
[0][0]
[1][0]
[2][0]
[3][0]
[4][0]
[5][0]
{2,4,6,8}
[0] [1] [2] [3]
Toggle Replication ReplicationOption.AllCombinations

Observations:
As in the geometry itself, there is dimensionality in the data, too.

1 singleton Point 1 repl. parameter 2 repl. parameters AND CorrespondingIndexing 2 repl. parameters AND AllCombinations 3 repl. parameters AND AllCombinations n repl. parameters AND AllCombinations 0d 1d 1d 2d 3d nd
Observation:
There is exponential growth in created features based on 10:

1 singleton Point 1 repl. parameter 2 repl. parameters AND CorrespondingIndexing 2 repl. parameters AND AllCombinations 3 repl. parameters AND AllCombinations 4 repl. parameters AND AllCombinations n repl. parameters AND AllCombinations
0d 1d 1d 2d 3d nd
1 10 10 100 1000 10n
4d 10000
Observation:
There is exponential growth in created features based on 30:

1 singleton Point 1 repl. parameter 2 repl. parameters AND CorrespondingIndexing 2 repl. parameters AND AllCombinations 3 repl. parameters AND AllCombinations 4 repl. parameters AND AllCombinations n repl. parameters AND AllCombinations
0d 1d 1d 2d
1 30 30 900
3d 27000 4d 810000 nd 30n
Space
Euclidean Space, non-Euclidean Space, Coordinate Space (Cartesian, Cylindrical, Spherical), Parametric Space,
Cartesian space Unless you are a quantum physicist or a theoretical mathematician, 3dimensional Cartesian space is all you will ever need (almost). Descartes added the orthogonal coordinate system to the principled Euclidian space.
In Euclidian space (originally defined in 2d space, i.e. on a plane, eg. a sheet of paper) there are straight lines that can be parallel. In non-Euclidian space (eg.the surface of a sphere), Euclidian rules do not apply, for example, there are no straight lines (but arcs, circles, curves).
On the surface, Euclidian (top) and non-Euclidian (bottom) 2d spaces.

In 3d, these are curved surfaces, which would peacefully coexist or intersect with any straight lines through space
Line.EndPoint T = 1.0
T = 0.35
Line.StartPoint T = 0.0
Parameter Space This is an embedded space. From within the line the universe only extends as far as the end of the line. This space is defined as 1 unit (of self), regardless of its size externally. The parameter is the T value
T = 1.0
T = 0.75 T = 0.25 T = 0.5
T = 0.0
While on a Line the T-parameter space is homogenous, this is not the case for BSplineCurves. T = 0.5 is not necessarily the geometric centre, it is the parametric centre. Parametric distances between control points are equal, if they are equally weighted
The analog is true for surfaces, with the 2d parameter space being a 1 by 1 square. Instead of the Cartesian 3d XYZ coordinates they are 2d UV coordinates.
A UV coordinate tuple {0.2, 0.7} can be sampled into an XYZ coordinate triplet {x,y,z}, for example by placing a Point.ByParametersO nSurface().
UV = {0.2,0.7} XYZ = {70,30,3.969}
UV = {0.2,0.7} XYZ = {70,30,3.969}
One way to think about how UV parametric space deals with distortion is to draw a grid on a balloon and then blow it up & squeeze it about a bit. The grid changes shape, but the relationships (topology) stay the same.
There are also update methods using cylindrical or spherical coordinate systems. These are handy for cylindrical and spherical things, but also for survey data.
The End

2012 02 14 GC Principles

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2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

Originally inspired by Ben Dohertys

generative components theoretical frameworks

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

A Starting Point and Grounding in Space

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

(a) A location (X, Y, Z), often at X, Y, and Z = 0 for the baseCS.

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

Planes and their normals have the same color-coding.

The yellow line indicates the currently active plane.

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

Planes and their normals have the same color-coding.

It is the Starting Point for the geometric model.

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

Populating the Model View & Populating the Graph

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

21 | WWW.BENTLEY.COM 2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

direct modeling point, plane, coordinate system placement.

23 | WWW.BENTLEY.COM 2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

old fashioned placement through New Node task.

Provide inputs through graphic selection of Nodes or Geometry.

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

old fashioned placement through New Node task.

26 | WWW.BENTLEY.COM 2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

(future Node palette.)

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

Drag and drop from New Node pane to Graph.

(future Node palette.)

No dropping into model

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

Drag and drop from New Node pane to Graph.

33 | WWW.BENTLEY.COM 2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

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