Load a model without caching it

Troubleshooting import-assets
1

In an editor application, caching causes problems. When you write an asset and then read it, you want to get the newer version, not the one in the cache. When I first encountered this, I worked around it by invoking DesktopAssetManager.clearCache() before every load. But this works only on a desktop, and it flushes everything from the cache, not just the one asset I’m trying to load.

So I created a class UncachedModelKey extends AssetKey<Spatial> specifically for the purpose of bypassing the cache during a loadAsset(). In particular, UncachedModelKey.getCacheType() returns null.

So far, so good. My question is, what should UncachedModelKey.getProcessorType() return?

Since Spatial implements CloneableSmartAsset, DesktopAssetManager.registerAndCloneSmartAsset() insists the AssetProcessor cannot be null. But if I return CloneableAssetProcessor.class, I get an IllegalStateException:

Apr 04, 2017 9:39:03 PM com.jme3.app.LegacyApplication handleError
SEVERE: Uncaught exception thrown in Thread[jME3 Main,5,main]
java.lang.IllegalStateException: Asset implements CloneableSmartAsset but doesn't have cache or was not cloned
	at com.jme3.asset.DesktopAssetManager.registerAndCloneSmartAsset(DesktopAssetManager.java:321)
	at com.jme3.asset.DesktopAssetManager.loadAsset(DesktopAssetManager.java:379)
1 Like
2

First, do you imagine a use-case where you are somehow managing to read/write assets on Android?

ie: is there a real use-case when you wouldn’t have a DesktopAssetManager?

Second:
http://javadoc.jmonkeyengine.org/com/jme3/asset/DesktopAssetManager.html#deleteFromCache-com.jme3.asset.AssetKey-

Edit: which by the way seems to be available on the AssetManager interface itself… so may work on non DesktopAssetManager cases.

2 Likes
3

It sounds like AssetManager.deleteFromCache(AssetKey) may be my best solution. Thanks for pointing me there!

1 Like
4

Just an idea: The AssetManager.loadAssetFromStream function also bypasses the cache, so you could load assets from InputStreams without the need to explicitely uncache them afterwards.

2 Likes
5

An even cleaner solution. I like it!

1 Like
6

When I use loadAssetFromStream() to load a J3O model, it works fine, but when I use it to import an OgreXML model, the materials don’t load. (They get set to null.)

1 Like