SoType(3IV)

NAME
     SoType (SoType) - stores runtime type information

INHERITS FROM
     SoType

SYNOPSIS
     #include <Inventor_c/SoType.h>

          Functions from class SoType:

     SoType              SoTypeFromName(SbName name)
     SbName              SoTypeGetName(const SoType *this)
     SoType              SoTypeGetParent(const SoType *this)
     SoType              SoTypeBadType()
     SbBool              SoTypeIsBad(const SoType *this)
     SbBool              SoTypeIsDerivedFrom(const SoType *this, SoType t)
     int                 SoTypeGetAllDerivedFrom(SoType type, SoTypeList
                              *list)
     SbBool              SoTypeCanCreateInstance(const SoType *this)
     void *              SoTypeCreateInstance(const SoType *this)
     int                 SoTypeIsEq(const SoType *this, const SoType t)
     int                 SoTypeIsNEq(const SoType *this, const SoType t)
     int                 SoTypeIsLT(const SoType *this, const SoType t)


DESCRIPTION
     The SoType class keeps track of runtime type information in Inventor.
     Each type is associated with a given name, so lookup is possible in
     either direction.

     Many Inventor classes request a unique SoType when they are initialized.
     This type can then be used to find out the actual class of an instance
     when only its base class is known, or to obtain an instance of a
     particular class given its type or name.

     Note that the names associated with types of Inventor classes do not
     contain the "So" prefix.

FUNCTIONS
     SoType              SoTypeFromName(SbName name)
          Returns the type associated with the given name.

     SbName              SoTypeGetName(const SoType *this)
          Returns the name associated with a type.

     SoType              SoTypeGetParent(const SoType *this)
          Returns the type of the parent class.

     SoType              SoTypeBadType()
          Returns an always-illegal type. Useful for returning errors.
     SbBool              SoTypeIsBad(const SoType *this)
          Returns TRUE if the type is a bad type.

     SbBool              SoTypeIsDerivedFrom(const SoType *this, SoType t)
          Returns TRUE if the type is derived from type t.

     int                 SoTypeGetAllDerivedFrom(SoType type, SoTypeList
                              *list)
          Adds all types derived from the given type to the given type list.
          Returns the number of types added.

     SbBool              SoTypeCanCreateInstance(const SoType *this)
          Some types are able to create instances; for example, most nodes and
          engines (those which are not abstract classes) can be created this
          way. This method returns TRUE if the type supports such creation.

     void *              SoTypeCreateInstance(const SoType *this)
          Creates and returns a pointer to an instance of the type. Returns
          NULL if an instance could not be created for some reason. The
          pointer is returned as a generic pointer, but can be cast to the
          appropriate type. For example:

               SoCube *c = (SoCube *) SoTypeCreateInstance(SoCubeGetClassTypeId());

           is a convoluted way of creating a new instance of an SoCube.

     int                 SoTypeIsEq(const SoType *this, const SoType t)
     int                 SoTypeIsNEq(const SoType *this, const SoType t)
          Returns TRUE if this type is the same as or not the same as the
          given type.

     int                 SoTypeIsLT(const SoType *this, const SoType t)
          Less-than comparison operator that can be used to sort types. This
          is pretty useless otherwise.


SEE ALSO
     SoAction, SoBase, SoDetail, SoError, SoEvent, SoField