------------------------------------------------------------------- ========================================================= Geant4 - an Object-Oriented Toolkit for Simulation in HEP ========================================================= Example vtk ----------- This example demonstrates VTK visualisation driver. The code is based on the basic/B1 example, although the geometry has been modified. The physical example is a concerete dump, so a cuboid with a cylindrical hole removed. VTK is a graphical pipeline (https://book.vtk.org/en/latest/VTKBook/04Chapter4.html#pipeline-design-and-implementation) based renderer. VTK has some visualisation commands which are not applicable to all viewers, which currently include cutters, clippers and geometry overlays. The VTK commands are in vtk.mac and you can explore apply different VTK only commands. A- VISUALISATION ================ This example is really for demonstration of VTK and so the easiest way to start with % G4VIS_DEFAULT_DRIVER=VtkQt ./exampleVtk or % G4UI_USE_TCSH=1 G4VIS_DEFAULT_DRIVER=VtkNative ./exampleVtk The event loop for the UI can be blocked by the VtkNative window. So if input events are captured by VTK, then the easiest way to exit from the viewer is to hit the 'q' button, then you are returned to the shell UI. To restart interaction then issue the command Idle> /vis/vtk/startInteractor B- USER INTERFACE ================= VTK can be used in conjunction with all UI systems. If a shell UI is used event loop for the UI can be blocked by the VtkNative window. So if input events are captured by VTK, then the easiest way to exit from the viewer is to hit the 'q' button, then you are returned to the shell UI. To restart interaction then issue the command Idle> /vis/vtk/startInteractor C- HOW TO RUN ============= Starting with VTK % G4VIS_DEFAULT_DRIVER=VtkQt ./exampleVtk Executing VTK specific commands Idle> /control/execute vtk.mac There are various pipelines and the state of the pipelines can be displayed by issuing this command Idle> /vis/vtk/printDebug Pipelines can be switched during operation. This is performed by calling Idle> /vis/vtk/set/polyhedronPipeline (append/tensor/bake/separate) and then a subsequent Idle> /vis/viewer/flush There is significantly different performance between these pipelines. Append, tensor and bake are all designed for large models and high performance. Separate creates a pipeline for each polyhedron, each pipeline will ultimately end with a draw call. In general with modern pipelined shaders draw calls should be kept to a minimum. For debugging the VTK viewer it is possible to place a head up display (HUD) which gives key information on the viewer performance. The HUD is enabled by issuing Idle> /vis/vtk/set/hud 1 Stewart Boogert 7th November 2023