vtkModelMetadata

Section: Visualization Toolkit Graphics Classes

Usage

This class is inspired by the Exodus II file format, but because this class does not depend on the Exodus library, it should be possible to use it to represent metadata for other dataset file formats. Sandia Labs uses it in their Exodus II reader, their Exodus II writer and their EnSight writer. vtkDistributedDataFilter looks for metadata attached to it's input and redistributes the metadata with the grid. The fields in this class are those described in the document "EXODUS II: A Finite Element Data Model", SAND92-2137, November 1995.

Element and node IDs stored in this object must be global IDs, in the event that the original dataset was partitioned across many files.

One way to initialize this object is by using vtkExodusModel (a Sandia class used by the Sandia Exodus reader). That class will take an open Exodus II file and a vtkUnstructuredGrid drawn from it and will set the required fields.

Alternatively, you can use all the Set* methods to set the individual fields. This class does not copy the data, it simply uses your pointer. This class will free the storage associated with your pointer when the class is deleted. Most fields have sensible defaults. The only requirement is that if you are using this ModelMetadata to write out an Exodus or EnSight file in parallel, you must SetBlockIds and SetBlockIdArrayName. Your vtkUnstructuredGrid must have a cell array giving the block ID for each cell.

To create an instance of class vtkModelMetadata, simply invoke its constructor as follows

  obj = vtkModelMetadata

Methods

The class vtkModelMetadata has several methods that can be used. They are listed below. Note that the documentation is translated automatically from the VTK sources, and may not be completely intelligible. When in doubt, consult the VTK website. In the methods listed below, obj is an instance of the vtkModelMetadata class.