Package nl.colorize.multimedialib.renderer

Interface Renderer

All Known Implementing Classes:
GDXRenderer, HeadlessRenderer, Java2DRenderer, JFXRenderer, TeaRenderer
public interface Renderer
The renderer acts as the entry point from the application to the underlying platform, managing the animation loop, graphics, audio, and input.

When started, the renderer will create the display system and then start the animation loop. Frame updates will be scheduled to match the targeted framerate. Each frame update consists of executing application logic for the current scene, after which the contents of the stage are rendered.

Application code has little direct interaction with the Renderer instance, apart from using start(Scene, ErrorHandler) and terminate() to start and stop the animation loop. The application will then receive a callback from the renderer during every frame update, for as long as the animation loop is active. These callbacks have access to the underlying renderer via the SceneContext. This explains why renderer capabilities such as graphics and input devices cannot be accessed directly from the Renderer instance, since they should only be

When it comes to display mode and screen resolution, the renderer has two different concepts: the screen and the "canvas". The former refers to the resolution at which the graphics are displayed, the latter refers to the resolution at which the graphics are rendered. This allows applications to support multiple resolutions that may be different from the native screen resolution. The canvas is accessible to the application during frame updates, via the aforementioned SceneContext.

  • Method Details

    • start

      void start(Scene initialScene, ErrorHandler errorHandler)
      Initializes this renderer and starts playing the requested scene. Errors that occur during the application will be forwarded to the specified error handler.

      As explained in the class documentation, this is the only method in Renderer that can be safely called from outside the renderer's application loop.

      Throws:
      IllegalStateException - when calling this method even though the renderer has already been started.

    • terminate

      void terminate()
      Ends the animation loop, stops this renderer, and quits the application. Renderer instances cannot be reused, restarting a previously terminated renderer is not possible.
      Throws:
      UnsupportedOperationException - if this renderer does not support termination, for if the underlying platform does not support explicitly terminating applications.

    • getGraphicsMode

      GraphicsMode getGraphicsMode()

    • getDisplayMode

      DisplayMode getDisplayMode()