Parameters and Sliders

Bank (Status: Up-to-date)

bank bankID
 set setID1 init1 min1 max1 step_size1
 ...
 set setIDN initN minN maxN step_sizeN
 list (slider_idlist)
endbank

Allows the user to change any numerical value in the .NOM file through an interactive slider in the GUI.

• setID: the variable to be parameterized.
• init: the initial value of the slider.
• min: the lower bound of the slider.
• max: the upper bound of the slider.
• step_size: the incremental step size of the slider.
• slider_idlist: the list of sliders to be displayed.

To use a user-defined parameter to define part of a generator, use this notation: {expr bankName.varName}. Ex: if a bank has been named bank par with one slider set rad 10 3 100 1, the slider could be used in a circle with circle circ ({expr par.rad} 40) to create a circle with a variable radius and 40 segments.

Time-Varying Models

$frame
$time

• These are two global variables that can be used in any expression that evaluates a numerical value in JIPCAD.
• $frame: An integer value that gets incremented by +1 after every rendering of the scene. All expressions that include $frame are updated before the scene is rendered again. This means that $frame can be significantly faster or slower than $time based on the behavior of geometry included: a simple static cube may mean that variables affected by $frame never change, while a scene that includes variable forms such as sin functions may update $frame rapidly.
• $time: A real value that keeps track of elapsed time (in seconds). After a rendering, the system-clock is interrogated and compared to the remembered system clock value after the previous rendering. The time difference is then added to the $time variable, and all expressions comprising $time get updated before the scene is rendered again. Ex: circle circ (10/$time 40) will create a circle with 40 segments and a radius that begins at 10 and shrinks every second following the sequence 10/1...10/2...10/3...etc.