Loading Objects

pfdLoadObject(filename) (defined in <Performer/pfdu.h> and libpfdu) loads objects in several different standard formats. It returns a pointer to a pfNode, which can be added to a scene graph.

The object format is determined by the extension of the file name.

Supported formats include:

Silicon Graphics Open Inventor (.iv)
Wavefront OBJ (.obj)
AutoCAD DXF (.dxf)
AutoDesk 3DStudio (.3ds)
movie.byu (.byu)
Coryphaeus Designer's Workbench (.dwb)
MultiGen OpenFlight (.flt)
Medit Productions MEDIT (.medit)
Performer Fast Binary (.pfb) [2.0.2 and later]

pfFilePath(path) defines a search path for the loaders to use when looking for data files. path is a list of directories similar to the PATH environment variable. e.g.:

	pfFilePath(".:/usr/share/data/models:/netusr/disk3/evl/pape/data/objects");

You can also define the file path from the shell, using the PFPATH environment variable:

	setenv PFPATH .:/usr/share/data/models:/netusr/disk3/evl/pape/data/objects

Last modified 21 July 1997.

Dave Pape, pape@evl.uic.edu