[ODE] body geometry dualism

[don]

> From: "Michael Scharvogel" <thubba@gmx.net>
> To: "ODE mailinglist" <ode@q12.org>
> Date: Wed, 7 Aug 2002 18:46:19 +0200
> Subject: [ODE] body geometry dualism
> 
> hi folks ...
> 
> There's another thing, that I cannot figure out.
> Why is it necessary to keep this body - geometry dualism.
> 
> If i got it right, I habe to set the geometry position AND the body =
> position. So what's the difference in these positions and why do I have =
> to keep them consistent / what happens if I don't keep them that way ??

I understand why, the dynamics engine only knows about bodies (CM,
forces, ...), geometries are for the collision system which is optional.

That said, the first thing I did was to start a library of objects
where each object manages a body and a geometry.  That way my app
doesn't need to worry about it.  I think soemthing like this would be
a good addition to ODE.  Would folks rather see C++ classes, or a plain
"C" interface for something like this?

Something else I am adding is a "global" transform for object creation
so that I can use functions which create objects relative to 0,0,0.
These can be called from a parent that sets the global transform once.
Has anyone tried this (are there pitfalls)?

Don Reid