Re: [FreeWRL-develop] linux > stereo rendering

[doug s. <hig...@ho...>]

>>>
>>> I'd like FREEWRL_STEREO_RENDERING to be defined in my linux build. I can hack the .c code to define it, and I see sidebyside and anaglyph rendering work well, toggled by the statsbarHud options page. I know little about the linux build system. I did do ./configure --with-statusbar=hud and that worked.
>>> Q. How do I do define FREEWRL_STEREO_RENDERING during the linux build process?
>>>
>>>
>>> Apparently, FREEWRL_STEREO_RENDERING, is only defined in these files:
>>>
>>> projectfiles_vc10/config.h
>>> 273:#define FREEWRL_STEREO_RENDERING 1
>>>
>>> projectfiles_vc9/config.h
>>> 273:#define FREEWRL_STEREO_RENDERING 1
>>>
>>> Which leads me to believe that whoever implemented stereo never
>>> implemented the definition of the variable for the linux build system.
>>> To achieve that, one needs to create that variable.
>>>
>>> something like this in configure.ac should do the trick.
>>>
>>> ------ Cut here-----
>>> AC_MY_DEFINE_SWITCH([stereo],[enable stereo
>>> (default=off)],off,FREEWRL_STEREO_RENDERING)
>>> AM_CONDITIONAL([FREEWRL_STEREO_RENDERING],[test "$sw_stereo" != no])
>>> ---------------
>>>
>>> After these lines have been added to configure.ac, run autoreconf and
>>> afterwards ./configure --help should give you an option which starts
>>> with "--enable-stereo".
>> Yes - works, and checked in. Thanks Paulo.
>> -Doug
>
>
> Curious -- is there any particular need for this to ever be off? Or are
> we using compile-time #ifdefs to do something that should probably be
> configured at runtime?
>
I'm OK if it's built in / no ifdefs or .configure needed. Shall I?
-Doug
more..
It's always built in win32. I think during development there was some distaste for it being in the code, or perhaps creating liabilities if someone's eyes going crosseyed as a result.
The shutterglasses option just wiggles around harmlessly. The sidebyside needs a screen bigger than your eyebase to be usable, but does no harm on a small screen. The Blackberry playbook Qnx tablet implementation does side-by-side nicely. The analgyph should work no matter what the screen size, although John was saying he found it fiddly on Android. I don't know if there are keyboard commands for all 3 modes, but if the .configure --with-statsubar=hud is used, there's an options button/panel that allows you to toggle / choose stereo mode and set any parameters, and toggle it off when done. So no command line option is needed. I think there are 2 more if()s it has to check per loop if you're not using it and its compiled in.
I was honoring the historical #ifdefs by other developers who found the whole stereovision thing distasteful and wanted no part of it. I've seen that reaction before when I gave a seminar on a virtual tour I did of an historical townsite, given to a museum association at their annual meeting. I passed out anaglyph glasses with the DVD and papers. After the class, all the papers and DVDs were taken, but a few anaglyph glasses were left behind. I suspect that people who can't see stereo find it distasteful or humiliating. Which I respect.
But perhaps the code now -in it's much cleaner, proven state, with fiducials and eyebase control- perhaps its acceptable to all for default inclusion. In that case, yes we can build it in by default. 
Summary: it doesn't hurt to always compile it in. Then if you don't want to use it, don't.