Mapper Classes [Visualization and Visualization Organization Classes]

In the MITK rendering concept, Mappers are responsible for actually rendering data onto the screen. More...

Collaboration diagram for Mapper Classes:

Classes
class	mitk::Geometry2DDataMapper2D
	OpenGL-based mapper to display a Geometry2D in a 2D window. More...
class	mitk::Geometry2DDataVtkMapper3D
	Vtk-based mapper to display a Geometry2D in a 3D windowUses a Geometry2DDataToSurfaceFilter object to create a vtkPolyData representation of a given Geometry2D instance. Geometry2D may either contain a common flat plane or a curved plane (ThinPlateSplineCurvedGeometry). More...
class	mitk::GLMapper2D
	Base class of all OpenGL-based 2D-Mappers. More...
class	mitk::ImageMapperGL2D
	Mapper to resample and display 2D slices of a 3D image. More...
class	mitk::Mapper
	Base class of all mappers, 2D as well as 3D. More...
class	mitk::Mapper2D
	Base class of all Mappers for 2D display. More...
class	mitk::Mapper3D
	Base class of all mappers for 3D display. More...
class	mitk::PointSetGLMapper2D
	OpenGL-based mapper to display a mitk::PointSet in a 2D window. More...
class	mitk::PointSetVtkMapper3D
	Vtk-based mapper for PointSet. More...
class	mitk::SurfaceVtkMapper3D
	Vtk-based mapper for Surface. More...
class	mitk::VolumeDataVtkMapper3D
	Vtk-based mapper for VolumeData. More...
class	mitk::VtkMapper2D
	Base class of all vtk-based 2D-Mappers. More...
class	mitk::VtkMapper3D
	Base class of all vtk-based 3D-Mappers. More...
class	mitk::CompositeMapper
	Composite pattern for combination of different mappers. More...
class	mitk::DiffusionImageMapper< TPixelType >
	Mapper for raw diffusion weighted images. More...
class	mitk::OdfVtkMapper2D< TPixelType, NrOdfDirections >
	Base class of all vtk-based 2D-Mappers. More...
class	mitk::ContourMapper2D
	OpenGL-based mapper to display a mitk::Contour object in a 2D render window. More...
class	mitk::ContourSetMapper2D
	OpenGL-based mapper to display a mitk::Contour object in a 2D render window. More...
class	mitk::ContourSetVtkMapper3D
	Vtk-based mapper for mitk::Contour. More...
class	mitk::ContourVtkMapper3D
	Vtk-based mapper for mitk::Contour. More...
class	mitk::GPUVolumeMapper3D
	Vtk-based mapper for VolumeData. More...
class	mitk::LineMapper2D
	OpenGL-based mapper to display Lines. More...
class	mitk::LineVtkMapper3D
	Vtk-based mapper to draw Lines from PointSet. More...
class	mitk::MeshMapper2D
	OpenGL-based mapper to display a mesh in a 2D window. More...
class	mitk::MeshVtkMapper3D
	Vtk-based mapper for PointList. More...
class	mitk::SplineVtkMapper3D
	Vtk-based mapper for Splines. More...
class	mitk::UnstructuredGridVtkMapper3D
	Vtk-based mapper for UnstructuredGrid. More...
class	mitk::PlanarFigureMapper2D
	OpenGL-based mapper to render display sub-class instances of mitk::PlanarFigure. More...

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Detailed Description

In the MITK rendering concept, Mappers are responsible for actually rendering data onto the screen.

Overview

Mappers differ in the type of data they are capable of rendering (e.g. volume data, polygonal data) and the mode of how data is rendered (e.g. 2D or 3D). For example, the ImageMapperGL2D renders volume data in a 2D view, i.e. it extracts a slice of the volume (as determined by the Geometry of the associated Renderer) and displays it as a 2D plane. All Mapper classes are arranged in a class hierarchy according to these criterions.

Integration into the rendering process

Mapper objects are owned by the DataNode which contains the data they have to render. An overview over this composition is given in the section Renderer and RenderWindow Classes. Each DataNode can have (and usually has) multiple Mappers attached, each responsible for different modes of rendering. In most cases this would be one 2D Mapper and one 3D Mapper, but other Mappers are possible, too. Which Mapper of a DataNode to use is determined by an ID; the Renderer of a 2D window would for example ask the DataNode to return an appropriate 2D Mapper.

More details can be found in the section on Rendering in MITK by means of the QT-VTK widget.

Future plans

The need to Update() a Mapper can be justified by property changes in the associated data items. However, property changes are not uniformly taken into account when deciding on whether to execute Update() or not. The changes are data specific and difficult to generalize. As an effect, many Update() calls are not really necessary and might slow down the rendering process significantly. One solution to this problem might be a mechanism which allows Mappers to register themselves to relevant data properties, so as to be notified whenever a change occurs. If no modification did occur since the last Update(), and the data itself has remained unchanged, no re-initialization (of the rendering pipeline for example) needs to be performed.