Why does JMonkey use Strings as parameters for specifying certain objects?
For example:
[java]new Geometry(“Box”, box1);[/java]
or
[java]new Node(“pivot”);[/java]
In LWJGL it just uses GL11.GL_QUADS. Isn’t using Strings instead just asking for run time errors?
The string is a name. Can you think of another parameter that would work for a name that isn’t a string? I can’t.
1 Like
Sorry. Don’t think I quite understand this. In the example code, it gives it a name “pivot” then, but what do you use it for?
[java] /** Create a pivot node at (0,0,0) and attach it to the root node */
Node pivot = new Node(“pivot”);
rootNode.attachChild(pivot); // put this node in the scene
/** Attach the two boxes to the *pivot* node. */
pivot.attachChild(blue);
pivot.attachChild(red);
/** Rotate the pivot node: Note that both boxes have rotated! */
pivot.rotate(.4f,.4f,0f);[/java]You can pass anything there.
Node pivot = new Node(“My Dog Has Fleas”);
It’s just a NAME. Used for seeing a name later or whatever. It’s informational or debugging info or whatever.
Have you been programming in Java for very long?
2 Likes
Not too long. Just realized I could have just used the default constructor instead. Sorry about that.
@pspeed said: The string is a name. Can you think of another parameter that would work for a name that isn't a string? I can't.
You can use ints with Hexspeak 
(but your pretty limited to actual recognizable names)
0xD15EA5E
0xBAADF00D
1 Like
@wezrule said: You can use ints with Hexspeak :) (but your pretty limited ^_^ to actual recognizable names)0xD15EA5E
0xBAADF00D
My favorite (and Java nerd inside joke): 0xCAFEBABE
1 Like
To explain the names: They’re there so you can attach an ID so you can quickly find the interesting nodes in a dump.
The name itself isn’t used by JME, it’s just reproduced. (Maybe you can also search for it, though I prefer to simply store a reference to the node in a variable if I need that.)
oh, ok. I thought it was something like opengl where you call glBegin(GL_QUADS) so new Geometry(“Box”, box1); meant “box” draws box1 as a 4 sided shape. Anyways, it’s resolved now.
You can always go through the source while in confusion. 
When programming in Java, there is almost always javadoc for the APIs. A click and a click and you can get descriptions about what a lot of the parameters mean.