A virtual camera that defines the viewpoint for rendering. More...

#include <camera.h>

Public Member Functions
Mat4	get_view_matrix () const
	Compute the view matrix (world → camera space).

Mat4	get_projection_matrix (float aspect_ratio, float near_plane, float far_plane) const
	Compute the projection matrix (camera → clip space).

Public Attributes
Vec3	eye = Vec3(0.0f, 0.0f, 10.0f)
	Camera position in world space.

Vec3	center = Vec3(0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f)
	The point the camera looks at.

Vec3	up = Vec3(0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f)
	The camera's "up" direction.

ProjectionType	projection = ProjectionType::PERSPECTIVE
	Which projection type to use.

float	fov_degrees = 45.0f
	Vertical field of view in degrees (perspective only).

Detailed Description

A virtual camera that defines the viewpoint for rendering.

How a camera works

A camera is defined by three things:

Position (eye): where the camera sits in 3D space.
Look-at point (center): what the camera is pointing at.
Up direction (up): which way is "up" on screen (usually +Y).

Together these define a view matrix that transforms world coordinates into camera coordinates.

The projection matrix (orthographic or perspective) then maps camera coordinates to clip space, which the rasterizer converts to screen pixels.

Construction

You rarely need to set all fields manually. Use one of the convenience functions:

// Fit a single mesh in view automatically
Camera cam = camera_fit_mesh(mesh, {0, 0, 1}, {0, 1, 0}, 45.0f);
 
// Manual setup
Camera cam;
cam.eye    = {5, 3, 10};      // camera position
cam.center = {0, 0, 0};       // look at origin
cam.up     = {0, 1, 0};       // Y is up
cam.fov_degrees = 45.0f;      // 45° field of view
cam.projection = ProjectionType::PERSPECTIVE;

See also: camera_look_at(), camera_fit_mesh(), camera_fit_scene(); camera_orbit(), ProjectionType

Definition at line 77 of file camera.h.

Member Function Documentation

◆ get_projection_matrix()

Mat4 scimesh::Camera::get_projection_matrix	(	float	aspect_ratio,
		float	near_plane,
		float	far_plane
	)		const

Compute the projection matrix (camera → clip space).

Parameters

aspect_ratio	Image width / height (e.g., 800/600 = 1.333).
near_plane	Distance to the near clipping plane.
far_plane	Distance to the far clipping plane.

Returns: A 4×4 projection matrix.

Definition at line 13 of file camera.cpp.

◆ get_view_matrix()

Mat4 scimesh::Camera::get_view_matrix ( ) const

Compute the view matrix (world → camera space).

This is a standard look-at matrix. You typically don't need to call this yourself — the renderer does it internally.

Returns: A 4×4 view matrix.

Definition at line 9 of file camera.cpp.

Member Data Documentation

◆ center

Vec3 scimesh::Camera::center = Vec3(0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f)

The point the camera looks at.

Together with eye, this defines the view direction as center - eye. Default: the origin (0, 0, 0).

Definition at line 88 of file camera.h.

◆ eye

Vec3 scimesh::Camera::eye = Vec3(0.0f, 0.0f, 10.0f)

Camera position in world space.

Where the "eye" sits. Default: (0, 0, 10), looking toward the origin from 10 units away on the +Z axis.

Definition at line 82 of file camera.h.

◆ fov_degrees

float scimesh::Camera::fov_degrees = 45.0f

Vertical field of view in degrees (perspective only).

Controls how wide the lens is. Typical values:

30° — telephoto (narrow, zoomed in)
45° — normal (default)
60°–90° — wide angle

Ignored when projection == ORTHOGRAPHIC.

Definition at line 109 of file camera.h.

◆ projection

ProjectionType scimesh::Camera::projection = ProjectionType::PERSPECTIVE

Which projection type to use.

See also: ProjectionType

Definition at line 99 of file camera.h.

◆ up

Vec3 scimesh::Camera::up = Vec3(0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f)

The camera's "up" direction.

Usually (0, 1, 0) for Y-up scenes. Must not be parallel to the view direction (center - eye).

Definition at line 94 of file camera.h.

The documentation for this struct was generated from the following files:

src/core/scimesh/camera.h
src/core/camera.cpp

Public Member Functions

Public Attributes