PROGRAMMING GUIDE
Applications that process PRC data should be structured to reflect the hierarchy of the PRC format. Ideally, they implement one function to process or create each of the PRC entities. Additionally, they implement other functions to perform repeated tasks, such as processing or creating attribute data that can apply to a broad category of PRC entities.
The PRC format is a highly-compressed hierarchical structure. The structural entities in a PRC document enable the definition of subassemblies that represent some part of the overall image, such as a gear or a nut. Subassemblies are then grouped to create more complex assemblies, or they can be referenced from other subassemblies similar to a macro.
The following diagram illustrates the hierarchical relationships that can exist between the structural elements:
Because some PRC entities can contain child entities of the same type, plug-ins that parse or create PRC data use recursion.