FSM_Helix

A State-Driven Abstraction for the Helix Toolkit 💥

Welcome to FSM_Helix—the architectural bridge between the powerful Helix Toolkit and the robust FSM_API state management framework. This library is a testament to the principle that "state shouldn't be a mess." It provides a clean, predictable, and performant way to manage the state of 3D objects and rendering in a WPF application.

Instead of directly interacting with complex HelixToolkit objects, you'll use our FSM wrappers to control their behavior. This approach ensures that every aspect of your 3D scene, from a single mesh's visibility to the entire viewport's rendering pipeline, is governed by a well-defined and predictable FSM.

Core Features

• Compositional State Management: We decompose complex objects like a Viewport3DX into multiple, orthogonal FSMs. This means you can manage a viewport's Lifecycle, CameraControl, and Rendering states independently.
• Performance by Design: FSMs that are not in an active state (e.g., a camera in a Static state) can have their processing suspended, ensuring that your application only spends resources on what is currently happening.
• A Unified API: The HelixStateContext abstract class provides a consistent blueprint for all our FSM wrappers, giving developers a uniform way to interact with any component in the FSM_Helix library.
• Seamless Integration: Designed for WPF, this library allows you to embed a Viewport3DX in your XAML and then control its entire state from a central, FSM-driven C# backend.

Getting Started

1. Add FSM_Helix to your project.
2. Add a <h:Viewport3DX> to your XAML.
3. Instantiate the FSM wrapper in your code-behind. This creates the entire compositional FSM hierarchy for you.

// In your MainWindow.xaml.cs
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
    private HelixViewport3DX_FSM _viewportFSM;

    public MainWindow()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
        
        // This single line creates a powerful, state-driven viewport.
        _viewportFSM = new HelixViewport3DX_FSM(MainViewport);
        
        // To suspend rendering when a UI panel is open:
        // _viewportFSM.Behaviors["Rendering"].TransitionTo("Suspended");
    }
}

Architectural Philosophy

This library is a foundational stepping stone for building scalable 3D applications. It leverages the FSM-driven P2P architecture described in our main project, GitHackforFun, by allowing game clients to confidently manage their local state while knowing that all changes will be handled through a robust, predictable FSM.

Dependencies

This project relies on the following NuGet packages:

• HelixToolkit.Wpf.SharpDX
• TheSingularityWorkshop.FSM_API

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.