Data Provider Framework

The HOOPS Data Provider Framework is a framework for writing data providers that can be plugged into applications based on HOOPS Access or HOOPS Envision. This includes HOOPS Envision Demo Analyzer and the RemoteModel server (CeeCloudServer) in HOOPS Envision for Web. The same plugin can be used both in cloud and desktop.

The Data Provider enables the user to provide the following data based on a given ModelKey:

  • Meta data about the given model: Number of states, geometries, results, sets
  • CAE model with elements and nodes
  • Results: Scalar, Vector, Displacements and Tensor (Stress and Strain)
  • Rigid body transformations
  • Element sets

The Data Provider also supports communicating updated data to the host application. This is done via the pollForChanges() method which will be called at regular intervals by host applications that have polling support. This method allows for notifying the host application that data has changed (using the CDPChangeNotifications interface), and the host will then ask for the updated data whenever needed.

The following modifications are supported:

  • Results: Modified, added and deleted
  • States: Modified meta data (name and reference value), added and deleted
  • Geometry: Modified

Finally, there is a way to communicate with the data provider from a client (web) or a host (desktop) application. By implementing the handleClientRequest() method a data provider can respond to queries, modify the data or do some other custom operation. As with pollForChanges(), there is a mechanism to notify the host that the data has changed, as well as communicate custom data back to the client (via the CDPClientResponse interface).

Distribution Content

The data provider framework can be found in the DataProviderFramework folder in the distribution. The data provider framework is free to use and is provided as source code so you can compile with your favorite compiler and settings.

  • CMakeLists.txt: Main CMake file (used for building the framework and example apps).
  • DataProviderHostLib: Library used by host applications to interface with data providers.
  • DataProviderPlugin: Header only library defining the interfaces needed for developing a plugin. A custom plugin has no external dependencies (not depending on DataProviderHostLib).
  • ExampleApps: A TestDriver for interrogating and validating a plugin with a given model key.
  • ExamplePlugins: MinimalPlugin: A small example showing how to create a plugin.

Supported Platforms

HOOPS Data Provider Framework supports most compilers on most platforms. It has been tested on:

  • Windows: Libraries compiled with VS2019 (142 toolset), which will work in VS2019 and VS2022.
  • Linux: Libraries compiled with Rocky 8.9 using glibc 2.28 and gcc 8.5.
  • MacOS: MacOS 10.14, 10.15, Xcode 10 and 11