Posted by mheydt on 10/30/2009 10:42 PM | Comments (2)

I've been working on a new particle network control. Here's an example:


What's going on here? Well, I have two particles fixed in place (the blue and green particles). Those two particles are joined by 10 light blue particles, and therefore space themselves between the two fixed particles.  There are then five red particles just connected to the blue particle, and 15 yellow particles connected to the green particle.

If you press the 'scramble' button, the particles will be randomized and layout will begin after 3 seconds.

What's new about this control and the others that I have posted before? Well:

  • WPF and Silveright compatibility
  • NET 4.0 and Silverlight 3
  • A completely rewritten physics / particle engine
  • The particle engine is completely separate from the rendering engine
  • The rendering engine supports animation of new elements and lines, elements and lines being removed
  • Roamer functionality is implemented as a part of the control in the concept of a display virtualizer
  • The virtualizer is replaceable with your own
  • Heck, the particle engine can be replaced too
  • Nodes and lines can be any framework element you desire

It's still rough, but I'll publish it for sharing soon I hope.

Comments

Joe
Joe Germany on 1/18/2010 4:37 PM wow, this looks awesome and seems to be the perfect solution for my needs.
What's the status of your works?
Is there any testready library?

Keep on with your great work!
Regards Joe
mheydt
mheydt United States on 1/22/2010 4:32 PM It's close.  I have to do some more work on it, which I am going to do as part of another project that I am working on.  Check back with me soon and I'll let you know.