Reference Type: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 00:37, 18 September 2024

Reference Types are a designation of types within the FrooxEngine Data Model. They are in contrast to value types in that they exist in one place in memory and are "passed around" by reference rather than by value, such as through a SyncRef<T>.

Reference types share the following properties:

Defined with a class, interface, delegate, or record internally.
Referred to and passed around with Reference IDs, usually through a SyncRef<T> field.
Implement IWorldElement, meaning they can be casted to and from IWorldElement.

Some examples of reference types include Slots, Users, Components, and Fields. Types defined through a struct are not reference types, such as the Rect type.

In general, the analogue to reference types in ProtoFlux is the object type. This can cause some confusion when using nodes that interact with FrooxEngine (such as Data Model Store) vs nodes that are contained entirely within protoflux (such as Store). A slot is an Object Ref in the Data Model, but an Object alone in ProtoFlux contexts. A string is a value in the Data Model, but an Object Field in ProtoFlux contexts.

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-Reference Types are types that store data indirectly, via references. This is in contrast to [[Value Type|Value Types]], which directly store their corresponding data.
+'''Reference Types''' are a designation of types within the [[FrooxEngine]] [[Data Model]]. They are in contrast to [[Value Type|value types]] in that they exist in one place in memory and are "passed around" by reference rather than by value, such as through a [[Type:SyncRef`1|SyncRef<T>]].
-For more information, refer to the [https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/language-reference/keywords/reference-types Microsoft documentation on C# Reference Types]
+Reference types share the following properties:
+* Defined with a [https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/fundamentals/types/classes class], [https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/language-reference/keywords/interface interface], [https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/language-reference/builtin-types/reference-types#the-delegate-type delegate], or [https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/language-reference/builtin-types/record record] internally.
+* Referred to and passed around with [[Type:RefID|Reference IDs]], usually through a SyncRef<T> field.
+* Implement [[Type:IWorldElement|IWorldElement]], meaning they can be casted to and from IWorldElement.
+Some examples of reference types include [[Slot|Slots]], [[User|Users]], [[Component|Components]], and [[Type:IField|Fields]]. Types defined through a [https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/language-reference/builtin-types/struct struct] are <em>not</em> reference types, such as the [[Type:Rect|Rect]] type.
+In general, the analogue to reference types in [[ProtoFlux]] is the [[Type:Object|object]] type. This can cause some confusion when using nodes that interact with FrooxEngine (such as [[ProtoFlux:Data Model Store|Data Model Store]]) vs nodes that are contained entirely within protoflux (such as [[ProtoFlux:Store|Store]]). A slot is an ''Object Ref'' in the Data Model, but an ''Object'' alone in ProtoFlux contexts. A [[Type:string|string]] is a ''value'' in the Data Model, but an ''Object Field'' in ProtoFlux contexts.
+== See Also ==
+* [[Value Type]]
+* [[Type:Object]]
+* [https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/language-reference/keywords/reference-types Microsoft documentation on C# Reference Types]. Do note that this is ''not'' the same exact implementation as Resonite's reference types, but the concepts still apply.
+[[Category:Type]]