// Copyright (C) 2024 The Qt Company Ltd.
// SPDX-License-Identifier: LicenseRef-Qt-Commercial OR GFDL-1.3-no-invariants-only

/*!
    \page studio-3d-instancing.html
    \previouspage studio-3d-group.html
    \nextpage studio-skeletal-components.html

    \title Instanced rendering

    Instancing allows duplicating a model with variations. In contrast to using
    the \uicontrol Repeater3D component, the model and its graphics resources are
    only allocated once. The rendering of the duplicated instances is done at a
    low level by the GPU. Depending on the complexity of the model, this can
    give a performance improvement of several orders of magnitude.

    In practice, instancing is done by defining a table that specifies how each
    instance is modified relative to the base model.

    You can add instancing to your scenes by using the instancing components
    available in \uicontrol Components > \uicontrol {Qt Quick 3D} >
    \uicontrol {Qt Quick 3D}:
        \list
            \li \uicontrol {Instancing}
            \li \uicontrol {Instance List}
            \li \uicontrol {Instance List Entry}.
        \endlist

    \section1 Reading instance tables from files

    The \uicontrol Instancing component makes it possible to read instance tables
    from files in XML or binary format. The binary file format uses the same
    layout as the table that is uploaded to the GPU, so it can be directly mapped
    to memory.

    In order to be valid, the XML file must have a top-level instance table
    element. Each instance is represented by an Instance element inside the
    InstanceTable. Unknown elements are silently ignored.

    An Instance element can have a number of attributes. Color attributes are
    specified by using SVG color names, such as "red", "green", or
    "lightsteelblue", or by using a hexadecimal notation. \c Vector3d and
    \c vector4d attributes are specified by a string of space-separated numbers,
    where missing trailing numbers indicate zeroes. The following attributes are
    supported: position, scale, eulerRotation, quaternion, custom, and color.
    For more information about instance tables, see the documentation for the
    \l{https://doc.qt.io/qt/qml-qtquick3d-fileinstancing.html}{FileInstancing}
    QML type.

    To use the \uicontrol Instancing component, drag it from
    \uicontrol Components to \uicontrol Scene in \uicontrol Navigator.

    \section2 Instancing properties

    Define the location of an XML or a binary file containing the instance data
    in \uicontrol Properties > \uicontrol {File Instancing} > \uicontrol Source.

    \image studio-3d-instancing-properties.png "File Instancing in the Properties View"

    If the file name has a \c .bin extension, it is assumed to refer to a binary
    file. Otherwise it is assumed to refer to an XML file. If an XML file
    \c foo.xml is specified, and the file \c foo.xml.bin exists, the binary file
    \c foo.xml.bin will be loaded instead.

    After defining the \uicontrol Source property for the \uicontrol Instancing
    component, select a model in \uicontrol Navigator, and in
    \uicontrol Properties > \uicontrol Model > \uicontrol Instancing, select the
    name of the \uicontrol Instancing component.

    \image studio-3d-instancing-model.png "The Instancing property"

    \section1 Using Instance Lists to build instance tables

    Use the \uicontrol {Instance List} component to define an instance table in
    \QDS. An instance table consists of instances defined as
    \uicontrol {Instance List Entry} components, which can have property bindings
    and animation. This gives great flexibility but also causes memory overhead.
    Therefore, it is not recommended to use \uicontrol {Instance List}
    for procedurally generated tables containing a large number of instances.
    Also, any property change to an entry will cause the entire instance table
    to be recalculated and uploaded to the GPU.

    \image studio-3d-instancing-instance-list.png "Instance List and Instance Entries in Navigator"

    To build an instance table:
        \list 1
            \li Drag an \uicontrol {Instance List} component from
                \uicontrol Components > \uicontrol {Qt Quick 3D}
                > \uicontrol {Qt Quick 3D} to \uicontrol Scene in
                \uicontrol Navigator.
            \li Drag \uicontrol {Instance List Entry} components to the
                \uicontrol {Instance List} component to create list items.
                \image studio-3d-instancing-instance-list.png "Instance List and Instance Entries in Navigator"

            \li Select the \uicontrol {Instance List} in \uicontrol Navigator, and in
                \uicontrol Properties > \uicontrol {Instance List} >
                \uicontrol Instances, select each \uicontrol {Instance List Entry}
                you wish to include in the \uicontrol {Instance List} by using
                the dropdown menu. You can add more fields for the property by
                clicking the \imageplus
                icon.
            \li To define an \uicontrol {Instance List Entry}, select it in
                \uicontrol Navigator, and specify its properties in
                \uicontrol Properties > \uicontrol {Instance List Entry}.
            \li Select a model component in \uicontrol Navigator, and in
                \uicontrol Properties > \uicontrol Instancing, select the name
                of the \uicontrol {Instance List} component.
        \endlist

    \section2 Defining Instance List Entries

    Use the \uicontrol {Instance List Entry} component to specify each instance
    in an \uicontrol {Instance List}.

    Each of the \uicontrol {Instance List Entry} properties can have
    \l {Adding bindings between properties}{bindings} and animation. Select an
    \uicontrol {Instance List Entry} in \uicontrol Navigator to specify the
    properties in \uicontrol Properties > \uicontrol {Instance List Entry}.

    \image studio-3d-instancing-instance-list-entry-properties.png "Instance List Entry Properties"

    Use the \uicontrol Color property to \l{Picking Colors}{specify the color}
    for the instance.

    Specify the position for the instance using the \uicontrol Position property,
    and the scale by defining the scale factors of the \uicontrol Scale property
    along the x, y, and z axes.

    Set the rotation for the instance using the \uicontrol Rotation
    property, which specifies the rotation for the instance as an Euler vector
    containing the rotation in degrees around the x, y, and z axes.
*/
