Getting started with Callisto

Callisto is provided as a Windows DLL. It has been tested with Microsoft Visual 2010.

Getting started
To start using the library, take the following steps:
  • First install the package.
  • Next, start a new project in Visual C++, this can be any type of project, but here we will assume it is a Win32 command line project.
  • Go to project properties->General->Additional include directories and add the path to the header files there.
  • The next step is to add the library to the input list. Go to the project properties->linker->input and add callisto50.lib to the addition dependencies list.
  • Now include callisto50.h (and callisto50Types.h if necessary) in your code.
  • Finally, copy the content of the bin directory to your debug and/or releases directory.
Thats all! Now Callisto is ready to be used.

Example
An example, see the comments in the code for explanation:

#include "../include/callisto50.h"
#include <conio.h>
#include <iostream>

int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
  // initialize Callisto
  if (CAL_Initialisation (true, "callisto.log")!=CAL_SUCCESS) {
    printf ("Error creating log (do you have write permissions in this folder?).");
    _getch();
    return -1;
  }
  
  // show a visualisation
  CAL_ShowView (0, "Callisto Sample");
  CAL_SetViewOptions (0, CAL_HIDEGROUNDPLANE | CAL_HIDEGRID);

  // it is good practise to suspend visualisation until the scene has been set-up
  // this speeds up operation
  CAL_SuspendVisualisation();

  // add a texture resource
  CAL_AddTextureResource (".");

  int textureId=0;
  int res = CAL_LoadTexture (textureId, "grass_1024.jpg");
    
  // create some object groups and create some objects
  int groupId0, groupId1, groupId2, sphereId, coneId, boxId, tetrahedronId, elevationGridId;
  CAL_CreateGroup (&groupId0, 0, true, "Cone group");
  CAL_CreateGroup (&groupId1, 0, true, "Sphere group");
  CAL_CreateGroup (&groupId2, 0, true, "Grass group");

  // create a cone and a sphere
  CAL_CreateCone (groupId0, 20, 50, &coneId);
  CAL_SetObjectPosition (coneId, 0, 25, 0);
  CAL_CreateSphere (groupId1, 10, &sphereId);
  CAL_SetObjectPosition (coneId, 0, 40, 0);

  // define the four corners of the tetrahedron
  float t[12] = {40,0,40, 50,0,40, 40,0,50, 40,30,40};
  CAL_CreateTetrahedron (groupId2, t, &tetrahedronId);
  
  // use a loop to create some boxes
  for (float i=0; i<10; i++) {
    float angle = i*(6.28f/10);
    CAL_CreateBox (groupId2, 5, 35, 5, &boxId);  
    CAL_SetObjectPosition (boxId, 40*sin(angle), 17.5f, 40*cos(angle));
  }

  int nrCols;
  // check if sphere group collides with cone group
  CAL_CheckGroupCollision (groupId0, groupId1, false, &nrCols);
  if (nrCols>0) {
    // if they collide, change color of sphere
    CAL_SetObjectColor (sphereId, 0, 1, 0);
  }

  // give the cone label
  CAL_CreateLabel (coneId, "My first\nCone", 5, 20, 20, 20);

  // create an elevation grid
  float heights[2601];
  for (int i=0; i<2601; i++) {
    heights[i] = (float)rand()/(RAND_MAX/10.0f);
  }

  CAL_CreateElevationGrid (groupId2, 50, 50, 50, 50, heights, &elevationGridId);
  CAL_SetObjectPosition (elevationGridId, -1250, 0, -1250);
  CAL_SetObjectTexture (elevationGridId, textureId, 20, 20);

  // resume rendering
  CAL_ResumeVisualisation();

  _getch();

  // let the sphere rotate around the cone
  float spherePos[3] = {0, 40, 0};
  for (float i=0; i<6.28f; i+=0.1f) {
    spherePos[0] = sin(i)*40;
    spherePos[2] = cos(i)*40;
    CAL_SetObjectPosition (sphereId, sin(i)*40,50,cos(i)*40, i);
  }

  _getch();

  // end Callisto
  CAL_End();

  return 0;
}


All functions and their descriptions can be found in the documentation.

Download Callisto (latest)
Version 5.2 (release notes)

Documentation
Callisto function reference

Examples
Getting started
The XML format of Callisto

Previous versions
Version 5.0
Version 4.1b
Version 4.00b
Version 3.05
Version 2.20
Version 2.11
Version 2.10
Version 2.00
Version 1.63
Version 1.5
Version 1.41
Version 1.3
Version 1.2
Version 1.11
Version 1.02
Version 1.0
Version 0.91
Version 0.9
Version 0.8
(c) 2003-2009 Dennis Nieuwenhuisen