What is @loaders.gl/math?
@loaders.gl/math is a library that provides a collection of mathematical utilities and data structures for handling 3D graphics and geospatial data. It includes functions for vector and matrix operations, geometric transformations, and other mathematical computations commonly used in computer graphics and geospatial applications.
What are @loaders.gl/math's main functionalities?
Vector Operations
This feature allows you to perform vector operations such as addition, subtraction, and normalization. The code sample demonstrates how to create two vectors and add them together.
const { Vector3 } = require('@loaders.gl/math');
const v1 = new Vector3(1, 2, 3);
const v2 = new Vector3(4, 5, 6);
const v3 = v1.add(v2);
console.log(v3); // Vector3 { x: 5, y: 7, z: 9 }
Matrix Operations
This feature provides matrix operations such as multiplication, inversion, and transformation. The code sample shows how to create an identity matrix, apply a translation, and multiply two matrices.
const { Matrix4 } = require('@loaders.gl/math');
const m1 = new Matrix4().identity();
const m2 = new Matrix4().translate([1, 2, 3]);
const m3 = m1.multiplyRight(m2);
console.log(m3); // Matrix4 { elements: [1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1, 3, 0, 0, 0, 1] }
Geometric Transformations
This feature allows you to apply geometric transformations such as rotation, scaling, and translation to points and vectors. The code sample demonstrates how to rotate a point around the X-axis.
const { Vector3, Matrix4 } = require('@loaders.gl/math');
const point = new Vector3(1, 1, 1);
const transform = new Matrix4().rotateX(Math.PI / 4);
const transformedPoint = point.transform(transform);
console.log(transformedPoint); // Vector3 { x: 1, y: 0, z: 1.4142135623730951 }
Other packages similar to @loaders.gl/math
gl-matrix
gl-matrix is a high-performance library for matrix and vector operations, designed for WebGL applications. It provides similar functionalities to @loaders.gl/math, including vector and matrix operations, but is more focused on performance and lower-level operations.
three
Three.js is a popular 3D library that includes a wide range of features for 3D graphics, including vector and matrix operations, geometric transformations, and rendering. While it offers similar mathematical utilities, it is more comprehensive and includes rendering capabilities.
mathjs
mathjs is a comprehensive math library for JavaScript that includes a wide range of mathematical functions, including vector and matrix operations. It is more general-purpose compared to @loaders.gl/math, which is specifically tailored for 3D graphics and geospatial data.
@loaders.gl/math (Experimental, Temporary)
loaders.gl is a collection of framework-independent 3D and geospatial parsers and encoders.
This module contains math utilities for the @loaders.gl3d-tiles
module. As they mature, these will likely be moved to a math framework (e.g. math.gl).
This code is a fork of a subset of the Cesium math library whcih is Apache 2 licensed.
For documentation please visit the website.