Mesh Interface

Overview

The MeshInterface class implements a query interface between Mesh objects and finite element data. Function pointers are used to query finite element model and results data. If a MeshInterface object interfaces to finite element data maintained by the host application, it is the responsibility of the user to implement the appropriate query functions. If a Mesh object maintains the finite element data, then the MeshInterface function pointers are set automatically.

The functions associated with a MeshInterface object are the following.

• Initialize and manage interface
  • initialize() - Initialize function pointers
  • copy() - Copy interface from another object
  • getErrorCode() - Get error code
• Set and query function pointers
  • setFunction() - Set function pointer
  • getFunction() - Get function pointer
  • setFunctionError() - Set error handling function pointer
• Query mesh topology and counts
  • getEntityCount() - Get number of entities (nodes/elements)
  • getTopology() - Get element topology
  • getMaxElementNodes() - Get maximum nodes in any element
  • getElementNodeCount() - Get node count for an element
• Query element and node data
  • getElementNodes() - Get node indices for an element
  • getCoordinates() - Get node coordinates
• Query element entities (faces/edges)
  • getElementEntityCount() - Get entity count in an element
  • getElementEntityConnectivity() - Get entity node connectivity
  • getElementEntityConnectionNumbers() - Get entity connection numbers
  • getElementEntityCornerConnectionNumbers() - Get corner connection numbers
  • getElementEntityTopology() - Get entity topology
• Query associations (element/node/faces/edges)
  • getElementAssociation() - Get element associations
  • getNodeAssociation() - Get node associations
  • getElementEntityAssociation() - Get element entity association
• Query reverse connectivity
  • getMaxElementCountConnectedToNode() - Get maximum elements connected to node
  • getElementsConnectedToNode() - Get get elements connected to a node
  • getAdjacentElements() - Get elements adjacent to a given element
  • getElementCountConnectedToNode() - Get number of elements connected to node
  • getElementsAdjacentToNodes() - Get elements adjacent to nodes
• Query part data
  • getPartName() - Get part name string
  • getPartNameCount() - Get number of partnames
  • getPartInformation() - Get specific partname
• Miscellaneous
  • getExtent() - Get node coordinate extent
  • getDimension() - Get the spatial dimension
  • getIntegrationPointCount() - Get number of element integration points

Initialize the interface using initialize(). This sets all function pointers to NULL. The query functions such as getEntityCount(), getTopology(), and getCoordinates() are used to retrieve mesh data. These functions internally call the registered callback functions to access the data.

For interfaces to application-maintained data, the user must implement and register all necessary callback functions. If using a Mesh object to store data, the mesh automatically registers the appropriate callbacks.

Class Members Descriptions

The currently available MeshInterface functions are described in detail in this section.

class MeshInterface

Interface for accessing mesh data from external sources.

Public Types

enum class Function

Function type identifiers for mesh interface.

Values:

enumerator GET_ENTITY_COUNT

Get the number of entities (nodes/elements)

enumerator GET_TOPOLOGY

Get element topology information.

enumerator GET_ELEMENT_NODES

Get node indices for an element.

enumerator GET_MAX_ELEMENT_NODES

Get maximum number of nodes in any element.

enumerator GET_COORDINATES

Get node coordinates (float precision)

enumerator GET_NODE_ASSOCIATION

Get node association information.

enumerator GET_ELEMENT_ASSOCIATION

Get element association information.

enumerator GET_ELEMENT_ENTITY_COUNT

Get number of entities (faces/edges/nodes) in an element.

enumerator GET_ELEMENT_ENTITY_CONNECTIVITY

Get node connectivity for an element entity.

enumerator GET_ELEMENT_ENTITY_TOPOLOGY

Get topology of an element entity.

enumerator GET_ADJACENT_ELEMENTS

Get elements adjacent to a specified element.

enumerator GET_MAX_ELEMENT_COUNT_CONNECTED_TO_NODE

Get maximum number of elements connected to any node.

enumerator GET_ELEMENTS_CONNECTED_TO_NODE

Get elements connected to a node.

enumerator GET_EXTENT

Get spatial extent (float precision)

enumerator GET_ELEMENT_ENTITY_CONNECTION_NUMBERS

Get connection numbers for an element entity.

enumerator GET_ELEMENTS_ADJACENT_TO_NODE

Get elements adjacent to a set of nodes.

enumerator GET_COORDINATES_DOUBLE_PRECISION

Get node coordinates (double precision)

enumerator SET_ERROR

Set error handling function.

enumerator GET_ELEMENT_NODE_COUNT

Get number of nodes in an element.

enumerator GET_ELEMENT_COUNT_CONNECTED_TO_NODE

Get number of elements connected to a node.

enumerator GET_ELEMENT_ENTITY_CORNER_CONNECTION_NUMBERS

Get corner connection numbers for an element entity.

enumerator GET_DIMENSION

Get dimensionality of the model.

enumerator GET_EXTENT_DOUBLE_PRECISION

Get spatial extent (double precision)

enumerator GET_ELEMENT_ENTITY_ASSOCIATION

Get association for an element entity.

enumerator GET_INTEGRATION_POINT_COUNT

Get number of integration points in an element.

enumerator GET_PARTNAME

Get name of a part.

enumerator GET_PARTNAME_COUNT

Get number of named parts.

enumerator GET_PART_INFORMATION

Get part information by index.

Public Functions

ErrorCode getErrorCode()

Return the current ErrorCode of the MeshInterface object.

Returns: ErrorCode - The current error code, or NONE if no error.

Status initialize()

Initialize all function pointers to NULL.

Returns:Status

Status setFunction(Function functionType, Vfunc *function)

Set pointer to grid function. The function descriptions are identical to the associated Mesh functions.

See Also getFunction()

Parameters:

• functionType – Function type being set
• function – Pointer to grid function

Returns:

Status

Status getFunction(Function functionType, Vfunc **function)

Get pointer to grid function.

See Also setFunction()

Parameters:

• functionType – Function
• function – [out] Pointer to grid function

Returns:

Status

Status copy(MeshInterface *from)

Make a copy of a MeshInterface object. The private data from the from object is copied to this object. Any previous private data in this object is lost.

Parameters:from – MeshInterface object to copy from Returns:Status

Status getEntityCount(EntityType type, int *count)

Return the number of entities of the requested type.

See Also getEntityCount

Parameters:

• type – EntityType Entity type (node or element)
• count – [out] Number of entities of specified type

Returns:

Status

Status getTopology(int index, int *shape, int *maxi, int *maxj, int *maxk)

Get element topology for a specified element index.

See Also getTopology

Parameters:

• index – Element index
• shape – [out] Element shape type
• maxi – [out] Maximum index in i-direction
• maxj – [out] Maximum index in j-direction
• maxk – [out] Maximum index in k-direction

Returns:

Status

Status getMaxElementNodes(int *max)

Get the maximum number of nodes connected to any element.

See Also getMaxElementNodes

Parameters:max – [out] Maximum number of nodes per element Returns:Status

Status getElementNodes(int index, int *nodeCount, int nodeIndexes[])

Get the node indices connected to an element.

See Also getElementNodes

Parameters:

• index – Element index
• nodeCount – [out] Number of nodes in the element
• nodeIndexes – [out] Array of node indices

Returns:

Status

Status getCoordinates(int indexCount, int indexes[], float coordinates[][3])

Gather node coordinates for a set of nodes.

See Also getCoordinates

Parameters:

• indexCount – Number of nodes
• indexes – Array of node indices
• coordinates – [out] Array of node coordinates [indexCount][3]

Returns:

Status

Status getCoordinates(int indexCount, int indexes[], double coordinates[][3])

Gather node coordinates in double precision.

See Also getCoordinates

Parameters:

• indexCount – Number of nodes
• indexes – Array of node indices
• coordinates – [out] Array of node coordinates [indexCount][3]

Returns:

Status

Status getNodeAssociation(NodeAssociationType type, int indexCount, int indexes[], int associations[])

Get node associations, associations, for a set of specified nodes indexes.

See Also getNodeAssociation

Parameters:

• type – NodeAssociationType
• indexCount – Number of node indices to get associations
• indexes – Array of node indices
• associations – [out] Array of node associations

Returns:

Status

Status getElementAssociation(ElementAssociationType type, int indexCount, int indexes[], int associations[])

Get element associations, associations, for a set of specified elements indexes.

See Also getElementAssociation

Parameters:

• type – ElementAssociationType
• indexCount – Number of element indices to get associations
• indexes – Array of element indices
• associations – [out] Array of element associations

Returns:

Status

Status getMaxElementCountConnectedToNode(int *max)

Get the maximum number of elements connected to any node. The number of elements connected to any node may only be queried after the node-element adjacency has been computed.

See Also getMaxElementCountConnectedToNode

Errors

OPERATION is generated if node-element adjacency has not been previously computed.

Parameters:max – [out] Maximum number of elements connected to any node Returns:Status

Status getElementsConnectedToNode(int nodeIndex, int *elementCount, int elementIndexes[])

Get the element indices connected to a node. This function returns the number of elements and element indices. The number of elements connected to a node will never exceed the maximum number of elements connected to any node as returned by getMaxElementCountConnectedToNode() .

See Also getElementsConnectedToNode

Parameters:

• nodeIndex – Node index to get connected elements
• elementCount – [out] Number of elements connected to node
• elementIndexes – [out] Array of connected element indices

Returns:

Status

Status getAdjacentElements(EntityType entityType, int elementIndex, int entityNumber, int *elementCount, int elementIndexes[])

Get the element indices connected to a specified element. This function returns elements adjacent to (connected to) a specified element across an element face, edge or node. The type of element feature across which adjacent elements are requested is specified by entityType. The element is specified by elementIndex and the element face, edge or node is specified by entityNumber. The number of connected elements, elementCount, and the vector of connected elements, elementIndexes, do not contain the element elementIndex. The number of elements connected to a specified element will never exceed the maximum number of elements connected to any node as returned by getMaxElementCountConnectedToNode() .

See Also getAdjacentElements

Parameters:

• entityType – Type of element feature
  • FACE
  • EDGE
  • NODE
• elementIndex – Element index to get connected elements
• entityNumber – Element face, edge or node number
• elementCount – [out] Number of elements connected to specified element
• elementIndexes – [out] Array of connected element indices

Returns:

Status

Status getElementEntityCount(EntityType entityType, int index, int *count)

Get the number of faces, edges or nodes in an element.

See Also getElementEntityCount

Parameters:

• entityType – EntityType
  • EDGE
  • FACE
  • NODE
• index – Element index
• count – [out] Number of entities in the element

Returns:

Status

Status getElementEntityConnectivity(EntityType entityType, int index, int entityNumber, int *nodeCount, int nodeIndexes[])

Get the node indices defining an entity on an element.

See Also getElementEntityConnectivity

Parameters:

• entityType – EntityType
  • EDGE
  • FACE
• index – Element index
• entityNumber – Entity number on the element
• nodeCount – [out] Number of nodes defining the entity
• nodeIndexes – [out] Array of node indices

Returns:

Status

Status getElementEntityConnectionNumbers(EntityType entityType, int index, int entityNumber, int *nodeCount, int connectionNumbers[])

Get the connection numbers for an entity on an element.

See Also getElementEntityConnectionNumbers

Parameters:

• entityType – EntityType
  • EDGE
  • FACE
• index – Element index
• entityNumber – Entity number on the element
• nodeCount – [out] Number of connection numbers
• connectionNumbers – [out] Array of connection numbers

Returns:

Status

Status getElementEntityTopology(EntityType entityType, int index, int entityNumber, int *shape, int *maxi, int *maxj)

Get the topological shape of an entity on an element.

See Also getElementEntityTopology

Parameters:

• entityType – EntityType
  • EDGE
  • FACE
• index – Element index
• entityNumber – Entity number on the element
• shape – [out] Entity shape type
• maxi – [out] Maximum index in i-direction
• maxj – [out] Maximum index in j-direction

Returns:

Status

Status getExtent(Group *group, float extent[2][3])

Return the coordinates of two points defining the world coordinate extent box of a set of nodes. The point extent[0] is the minimum and the point extent[1] is the maximum. If no node point coordinates have been specified, then the contents of extent are undefined.

See Also getExtent

Errors

VALUE is generated if group is not a node group.

Parameters:

• group – Pointer to Group object of nodes. If NULL, then all nodes are assumed.
• extent – [out] World coordinates of points at minimum x,y,z and maximum x,y,z.

Returns:

Status

Status getExtent(Group *group, double extent[2][3])

Return the coordinates of two points defining the world coordinate extent box of a set of nodes in double precision. The point extent[0] is the minimum and the point extent[1] is the maximum. If no node point coordinates have been specified, then the contents of extent are undefined.

See Also getExtent()

Errors

VALUE is generated if group is not a node group.

Parameters:

• group – Pointer to Group object of nodes. If NULL, then all nodes are assumed.
• extent – [out] World coordinates of points at minimum x,y,z and maximum x,y,z.

Returns:

Status

Status getElementNodeCount(int index, int *count)

Get the number of nodes in an element.

See Also getElementNodeCount

Parameters:

• index – Element index
• count – [out] Number of nodes in the element

Returns:

Status

Status getElementCountConnectedToNode(int nodeIndex, int *count)

Get the number of elements connected to a node. The number of elements connected to a node will never exceed the maximum number of elements connected to any node as returned by getMaxElementCountConnectedToNode() .

See Also getElementCountConnectedToNode

Parameters:

• nodeIndex – Node index to get connected element count
• count – [out] Number of elements connected to node

Returns:

Status

Status getElementsAdjacentToNodes(int nodeIndexCount, int nodeIndexes[], int *elementIndexCount, int elementIndexes[])

Get the element indices connected to a set of nodes. Each returned element will contain the complete set of input nodes in its node connectivity. The number of elements connected to a set of nodes will never exceed the maximum number of elements connected to any node as returned by getMaxElementCountConnectedToNode() .

See Also getElementsAdjacentToNodes

Parameters:

• nodeIndexCount – Number of node indices
• nodeIndexes – Array of node indices
• elementIndexCount – [out] Number of elements connected to specified nodes
• elementIndexes – [out] Array of connected element indices

Returns:

Status

Status getElementEntityCornerConnectionNumbers(EntityType entityType, int index, int entityNumber, int *nodeCount, int connectionNumbers[])

Get the corner node connection numbers of a specified element face or edge. Node corner connection numbers specify positions of nodes in the element node connectivity list. The first position in the element node connectivity has a node connection number of 1.

See Also getElementEntityCornerConnectionNumbers

Parameters:

• entityType – EntityType
  • ELEMENT
  • EDGE
  • FACE
• index – Element index to get corner node connection numbers
• entityNumber – Element face or edge number
• nodeCount – [out] Number of corner nodes
• connectionNumbers – [out] Array of corner node connection numbers

Returns:

Status

Status getDimension(int *count)

Determine dimensionality of finite element model. If count = 2 the finite element model is a 2 dimensional model. This is used for 2D planar or 2D axisymmetric models. If count = 3 the finite element model is a full 3 dimensional model.

See Also getDimension

Parameters:count – [out] Number of spatial dimensions Returns:Status

Status getElementEntityAssociation(ElementAssociationType type, EntityType entityType, int index, int entityNumber, int *association)

Get element entity association, association, for a specified element edge or face. Element face and edge numbers are 1 based. If an element entity association has not been defined, zero is returned.

See Also getElementEntityAssociation

Parameters:

• type – ElementAssociationType
• entityType –
  • FACE
  • EDGE
• index – Element index
• entityNumber – Element face or edge number
• association – [out] Element entity association

Returns:

Status

Status getIntegrationPointCount(int index, int *count)

Query for the number of element integration points at a specified element, index. If the number of element integration points at an element has not been set, then zero is returned.

See Also getIntegrationPointCount

Errors

VALUE is generated if an improper element index is specified.

Parameters:

• index – Element index
• count – [out] Number of element integration points

Returns:

Status

Status getPartName(int partId, char name[])

Get the name string associated with partId.

See Also getPartNameCount() , getPartInformation()

Parameters:

• partId – Part identifier
• name – [out] Name string

Returns:

Status

Status getPartNameCount(int *count)

Get the number of part names defined. Use getPartInformation() to get a specific part name and associated part identifier.

See Also getPartName() , getPartInformation()

Parameters:count – [out] Number of part names Returns:Status

Status getPartInformation(int index, int *partId, char name[])

Get a specific part name and the associated part identifier. Use getPartNameCount() to get the number of part names.

See Also getPartName() , getPartNameCount()

Parameters:

• index – Index of part name, 1 <= index <= count
• partId – [out] Part identifier
• name – [out] Name string

Returns:

Status

Status setFunctionError(UnaryIntFunction *function)

Set user error function.

Parameters:function – Pointer to error handling function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetEntityCount(GetEntityCountFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying entity counts.

See Also getEntityCount()

Parameters:function – Pointer to entity count function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetTopology(GetTopologyFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying element topology.

See Also getTopology()

Parameters:function – Pointer to topology function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetMaxElementNodes(GetMaxElementNodesFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying the maximum number of nodes connected to any element.

See Also getMaxElementNodes()

Parameters:function – Pointer to max element nodes function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetElementNodes(GetElementNodesFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying the node indices connected to an element.

See Also getElementNodes()

Parameters:function – Pointer to element nodes function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetCoordinatesFloat(GetCoordinatesFloatFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for gathering node coordinates in single precision.

See Also getCoordinates()

Parameters:function – Pointer to float coordinates function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetCoordinatesDouble(GetCoordinatesDoubleFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for gathering node coordinates in double precision.

See Also getCoordinates()

Parameters:function – Pointer to double coordinates function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetNodeAssociation(GetNodeAssociationFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying node associations.

See Also getNodeAssociation()

Parameters:function – Pointer to node association function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetElementAssociation(GetElementAssociationFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying element associations.

See Also getElementAssociation()

Parameters:function – Pointer to element association function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetMaxElementCountConnectedToNode(GetMaxElementCountConnectedToNodeFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying the maximum number of elements connected to any node.

See Also getMaxElementCountConnectedToNode()

Parameters:function – Pointer to max node-element count function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetElementsConnectedToNode(GetElementsConnectedToNodeFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying the elements connected to a node.

See Also getElementsConnectedToNode()

Parameters:function – Pointer to node-element connectivity function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetAdjacentElements(GetAdjacentElementsFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying elements adjacent to a given element.

See Also getAdjacentElements()

Parameters:function – Pointer to element adjacency function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetElementEntityCount(GetElementEntityCountFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying the number of faces, edges or nodes in an element.

See Also getElementEntityCount()

Parameters:function – Pointer to element entity count function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetElementEntityConnectivity(GetElementEntityConnectivityFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying the node indices defining an entity on an element.

See Also getElementEntityConnectivity()

Parameters:function – Pointer to element entity connectivity function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetElementEntityConnectionNumbers(GetElementEntityConnectionNumbersFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying the connection numbers for an entity on an element.

See Also getElementEntityConnectionNumbers()

Parameters:function – Pointer to element entity connection numbers function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetElementEntityTopology(GetElementEntityTopologyFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying the topological shape of an entity on an element.

See Also getElementEntityTopology()

Parameters:function – Pointer to element entity topology function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetExtentFloat(GetExtentFloatFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for computing the node coordinate extent in single precision.

See Also getExtent()

Parameters:function – Pointer to float extent function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetExtentDouble(GetExtentDoubleFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for computing the node coordinate extent in double precision.

See Also getExtent()

Parameters:function – Pointer to double extent function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetElementNodeCount(GetElementNodeCountFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying the number of nodes in an element.

See Also getElementNodeCount()

Parameters:function – Pointer to element node count function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetElementCountConnectedToNode(GetElementCountConnectedToNodeFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying the number of elements connected to a node.

See Also getElementCountConnectedToNode()

Parameters:function – Pointer to node-element count function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetElementsAdjacentToNodes(GetElementsAdjacentToNodesFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying elements adjacent to a set of nodes.

See Also getElementsAdjacentToNodes()

Parameters:function – Pointer to node adjacency function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetElementEntityCornerConnectionNumbers(GetElementEntityCornerConnectionNumbersFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying the corner node connection numbers of an element entity.

See Also getElementEntityCornerConnectionNumbers()

Parameters:function – Pointer to element entity corner connection numbers function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetDimension(GetDimensionFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for determining the spatial dimensionality of the finite element model.

See Also getDimension()

Parameters:function – Pointer to dimension function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetElementEntityAssociation(GetElementEntityAssociationFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying element entity associations.

See Also getElementEntityAssociation()

Parameters:function – Pointer to element entity association function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetIntegrationPointCount(GetIntegrationPointCountFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying the number of element integration points.

See Also getIntegrationPointCount()

Parameters:function – Pointer to integration point count function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetPartName(GetPartNameFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying a part name string by part identifier.

See Also getPartName()

Parameters:function – Pointer to part name function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetPartNameCount(GetPartNameCountFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying the number of part names.

See Also getPartNameCount()

Parameters:function – Pointer to part name count function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionGetPartInformation(GetPartInformationFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for querying a specific part name and its associated part identifier by index.

See Also getPartInformation()

Parameters:function – Pointer to part information function Returns:Status

Status setFunctionSetError(SetErrorFunction *function)

Set the function pointer for reporting errors from within mesh interface callback functions.

See Also setFunctionError()

Parameters:function – Pointer to error reporting function Returns:Status