Manual (Data Types and Conventions)
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The basic data types
The ODE library can be built to use either single or double precision floating point numbers. Single precision is faster and uses less memory, but the simulation will have more numerical error that can result in visible problems. You will get less accuracy and stability with single precision.
(must describe what factors influence accuracy and stability).
The floating point data type is dReal. Other commonly used types are dVector3, dVector4, dMatrix3, dMatrix4, dQuaternion.
The non-scalar floating point types are all implemented as simple arrays of dReals. Their layout conventions are as follows:
| Name | Implementation | Format |
|---|---|---|
dQuaternion
| dReal[4]
| [ w, x, y, z ], where w is the real part and x, y, and z form the imaginary part. |
dVector4
| dReal[4]
| [ x, y, z, 1.0 ] |
dVector3
| dReal[4] (sic)
| Same as dVector4.
|
dMatrix4
| dReal[4*4]
| A 4x4 matrix, laid out in row-major order, usually used as a homogeneous transform matrix. This means that the upper-left 3x3 elements are a rotation matrix, the first three elements of the last column are a translation vector, and the last row is simply [ 0, 0, 0, 1 ]. |
dMatrix3
| dReal[3*4]
| A 3x4 matrix with the elements laid out in row-major order. Usually used as a 4x4 homogeneous matrix (see above) with the last row omitted as implicit. |
dMatrix6
| dReal[6*8]
| Declared in ode/common.h, but not used anywhere. |
Objects and IDs
There are various kinds of object that can be created:
- dWorld - a dynamics world.
- dSpace - a collision space.
- dBody - a rigid body.
- dGeom - geometry (for collision).
- dJoint - a joint
- dJointGroup - a group of joints.
Functions that deal with these objects take and return object IDs. The object ID types are dWorldID, dBodyID, etc.
Argument conventions
All 3-vectors (x,y,z) supplied to "set" functions are given as individual x,y,z arguments.
All 3-vector result arguments to get() function are pointers to arrays of dReal.
Larger vectors are always supplied and returned as pointers to arrays of dReal.
All coordinates are in the global frame except where otherwise specified.
C versus C++
The ODE library is written in C++, but its public interface is made of simple C functions, not classes. Why is this?
- Using a C interface only is simpler - the features of C++ features do not help much for ODE.
- It prevents C++ mangling and runtime-support problems across multiple compilers.
- The user doesn't have to be familiar with C++ quirks to use ODE.
Debugging
The ODE library can be compiled in "debugging" or "release" mode. Debugging mode is slower, but function arguments are checked and many run-time tests are done to ensure internal consistency. Release mode is faster, but no checking is done.
