hwLight - create a light source for illuminating a scene
| Color | 3F | Color of the light source |
| Positional | 1I | True if it has a finite distance, false if is placed an infinite distance from the scene |
| Pos | 3F | Position, if Positional is true |
| Dir | 3F | Direction the light is pointing |
| Cutoff | 1F | Cutoff angle of a positional light, in degrees |
| LightExp | 1F | Rate of "fade" as objects get away from the centerline of the light |
| Atten | 1F | Rate of "fade" as objects get farther away from the light |
| Color | {1,1,1} |
| Positional | False |
| Pos | {0,0,-1} |
| Dir | {0,0,1} |
| Cutoff | 0.0 radiate in all directions |
| LightExp | 0.0 don't fade |
| Atten | 0.0 don't attenuate |
The hwLight class creates a light source which will illuminate objects in the scene. Either directional or positional light sources may be created; a directional light source lights as if it were located an infinite distance away from the view and objects; a positional light source has a specified position in the scene.
For directional light sources, the only relevant parameters are the Color and the Dir (the direction the light beams are shining). All other parameters are ignored. Directional light sources are probably the easiest to use. The Dir parameter will be modified by the model matrix in place when the light is drawn.
For positional light sources, all parameters are relevant. The Pos is the position of the light, in *model* coordinates. That is, the Pos will be effected by whatever matrix is pushed on the stack. The Dir is only useful if the Cutoff angle is non-zero; it is the direction that a cone light is pointing. It is modified by the model matrix in place when the light is drawn. The Cutoff angle is half of the width, in degrees, of a conical light source. If this angle is zero, the light source radiates in all directions. The LightExp is a number between 0.0 and 1.0 which specifies the spotlight "fade" as the direction from the light to the object gets farther from the axis. The Atten is a number specifying the rate at which the light attenuates as objects get farther from it. If this is 0.0, then the light does not attenuate. Otherwise, it must be greater than or equal to 1.0.
/* Draw a directional red light */
hwObject
light;
light = hwLight->create( hwLight );
HW_MODIFY_3F( light, hwStrColor, 1, 0, 0 );
HW_MODIFY_3F( light, hwStrDir, 1, 1, 1 );
light->draw( light );
light->destroy( light );
# A directional red light
hwLight light {
Color = {1,0,0}
Dir = {1,1,1}
}