POD File Structure
As previously mentioned a POD file is divided into a set of header blocks and a set of blocks containing the scene data.
This section will go into more detail to describe the purpose of each of these blocks, as well as any sub-blocks located inside them.
Header Blocks
The header blocks give general information about the POD file.
| Name | Identifier | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Version | 1000 | A null terminated character string containing the following: “AB.POD.2.0” |
| Export Options | 1002 | A null terminated character array containing the options used to export the POD file. The contents of this string are implementation specific from exporter to exporter and are primarily used to allow an exporter to re-read the options used in an existing POD file. |
| History | 1003 | A null terminated character array containing the history of the POD file. The exact contents of this string are implementation-specific from exporter to exporter. Its use is informational only. |
Scene Data Blocks
The scene data block contains all of the data which describes a scene. This block is made up of various other blocks which describe the number of cameras, lights, meshes, materials, and so on.
A full list of the various different kinds of blocks within the scene data block is shown below.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Clear Colour | Clear colour of the scene (see Clear Colour). |
| Ambient Colour | Ambient colour of the scene (see Ambient Colour). |
| Num. Cameras | Number of cameras in the scene (see Num. Cameras) |
| Num. Lights | Number of lights in the scene (see Num. Lights). |
| Num. Meshes | Number of meshes in the mesh array (see Num. Meshes). |
| Num. Nodes | Number of nodes in the scene (see Num. Nodes). |
| Num. Mesh Nodes | The total number of meshes in the scene (this may be larger than Num. Meshes as this number will include instanced meshes) (see Num. Mesh Nodes). |
| Num. Textures | Number of textures in the scene (see Num. Textures). |
| Num. Frames | Number of frames of animation in the scene (see Num. Frames). |
| Num. Materials | Number of materials in the scene (see Num. Materials). |
| Camera | Specifies all the information relating to a single camera within the scene. This block may appear multiple times (see Camera). |
| Light | Specifies all the information relating to a single light within the scene. This block may appear multiple times (see Light). |
| Mesh | Specifies all the information relating to a single mesh within the scene. This block may appear multiple times (see Mesh). |
| Node | Specifies all the information relating to a single node within the scene. This block may appear multiple times (see Node). |
| Texture | Specifies all the information relating to a single texture within the scene. This block may appear multiple times (see Texture). |
| Material | Specifies all the information relating to a single material within the scene. This block may appear multiple times (see Material). |
| Scene Flags | Specifies whether a number of flags are set within the POD file (see Scene Flags). |
| FPS | Specifies the animation speed of the scene, in frames per second (see FPS). |
| Scene User Data | Custom data added by the exporter (see Scene User Data). |
The rest of this section will provide a reference for each of these blocks including their unique identifier numbers and a description of the types of data they contain.