Using the SimpleMath library

This lesson introduces the reader to the SimpleMath game and graphics math library.

Coordinate system

Consistent with the original XNA Game Framework C# math library, SimpleMath assumes a right-handed coordinate system, with the positive z-axis pointing toward the observer when the positive x-axis is pointing to the right, and the positive y-axis is pointing up.

Vectors

SimpleMath provides the Vector2, Vector3, and Vector4 classes for representing and manipulating vectors. A vector typically is used to represent a direction and magnitude.

Each vector class has methods for performing standard vector operations such as:

Dot product
Cross product
Normalization
Transformation
Linear, Cubic, Catmull-Rom, or Hermite spline interpolation.

For example:

Vector3 upVector( 0, 1.f, 0 );
Vector3 leftVector( 1.f, 0, 0 );
float dot = upVector.Dot( leftVector );

Matrices

SimpleMath provides a Matrix class for transformation of geometry. The Matrix class uses row-major order to address matrices, which means that the row is specified before the column when describing an element of a two-dimensional matrix. The Matrix class provides methods for performing standard matrix operations such as calculating the determinate or inverse of a matrix. There also are helper methods for creating scale, rotation, and translation matrices.

Matrix a(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16);
Matrix b(1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 23, 42, 0, 1);
Matrix c = a * b;

Quaternions

The Quaternion structure to calculate the efficient rotation of a vector by a specified angle, and is particularly effective when interpolating between angles.

Quaternion a(0.707107f, 0, 0, 0.707107f);
Quaternion (0, 0.707107f, 0, 0.707107f);
Quaternion c = Quaternion::Slerp(a, b, 0.25f);

Bounding Volumes

The BoundingBox, BoudingOrientedBox, BoundingFrustum, BoundingSphere, Plane, and Ray classes provides for representing simplified versions of geometry for the purpose of efficient collision and hit testing. These classes have methods for checking for intersection and containment with each other

Precision and Performance

The SimpleMath types are single-precision. This means that the primitives and operations contained in this library use 32-bit floating-point numbers to achieve a balance between precision and efficiency when performing large numbers of calculations.

A 32-bit floating-point number ranges from –3.402823e38 to +3.402823e38. The 32 bits store the sign, mantissa, and exponent of the number that yields seven digits of floating-point precision. Some numbers—for example π, 1/3, or the square root of two—can be approximated only with seven digits of precision, so be aware of rounding errors when using a binary representation of a floating-point number.

Next lesson: Basic game math