ofxSimpleApp

A multi-purpose application layout for quickly setting up OpenFrameworks projects, powered by ofxImGui.

It aims to get you started quickly for both drafts and performance applications. It focusses on minimising the workflow for advanced use-cases, using simplicity where possible when it doesn't restrict the user. It is my personal ofApp base class that I use across many projects, I hope it's useful for you too. WIP.

Demo : Video of an ofxSimpleApp

Features

• Minimal by default, fine-tuneable using a simple opt-in based config file.
• A basic but highly customiseable application GUI layout with a menu, some common keybindings and metrics to get your app going quickly.
• Save/Load system for retrieving settings using either TinyXml or PugiXml (default).
• A canvas class wrapping a rendering FBO displayed in your window.
• An "About" window with application and build information.
• Recording and export options (NDI, Syphon, Movie + PNG Recordings).
• Debugging features:
• An in-app console to keep an eye on the internal logs during runtime.
• ImGui debuggers for GUI debugging.
• Tracy integration for in depth profiling.
• ofxTimeMeasurements integration for quick profiling.
• Easy integration of various addons :
• Todo

Requirements

You need the following addons for running the default configuration :

• jvcleave/ofxImGui/develop

Depending on your configuration's opt-ins, you'll need some extra addons with your project. Please refer to the Configuration section below for correspondance with the config flags.

• leadedge/ofxNdi + ofxImGuiAddonWidgets
• astellato/ofxSyphon
• NickHardeman/ofxFastFboReader _(Sorry, a fork of a fork, maybe the original works too)_
• armadillu/ofxTimeMeasurements
• Daandelange/ofxFFmpegRecorder _(Sorry, a fork of a fork)_
• Daandelange/ofxPugiXML _(Sorry, a fork of a fork)_
• Daandelange/ofxPlayhead
• Daandelange/ofxImGuiAddonWidgets
• roymacdonald/ofxGLWarper

Compatibility

Tested with OpenFrameworks 0.12 on macos.

Installation

Add ofxSimpleApp and ofxImGui to your project, then inherit your ofApp from ofxSimpleApp instead of ofBaseApp. Now you're ready to go for the minimal experience !

Configuration

Basically you need to configure which features you'd like to use by enabling their respective config flags, and sometimes add the required addons to your project.

• Option 1 : Put the required flags into a file ofxSaUserConfig.h and tell ofxSA where to find it (_see below_).
• Option 2 : Add the required opt-in flags to your project compilation defines one by one.

Please refer to the examples for detailed options.

Config flag	Required ofxAddons	Description
Test	Test	Test
ofxSA_XML_ENGINE=ofxSA_XML_ENGINE_TINYXML	ofxXmlSettings	Use ofxXmlSettings as storage engine for saving sessions. (Unsupported)
ofxSA_XML_ENGINE=ofxSA_XML_ENGINE_PUGIXML	ofxPugiXML	Use libPugiXML as storage engine for saving sessions.
ofxSA_XML_FILENAME		Default filename for loading and saving sessions.
ofxSA_XML_FOLDER		Folder where all session XML files are located.
ofxSA_GLOBAL_XML_FILENAME		Default filename for loading and saving global application settings.
ofxSA_ENABLE_GLOBAL_XML	ofxPugiXml	To enable a global app settings savefile. Default=1, set to 0 to disable.
ofxSA_SYPHON_OUTPUT	ofxSyphon	Outputs the canvas/ofAppWindow to Syphon. Macos only.
ofxSA_SYPHON_NAME_MAXLEN		Max length of a Syphon server. (verbose)
ofxSA_CANVAS_OUTPUT_ENABLE	_None_	Enables an fbo for rendering content, with GUI navigation and export/output.
ofxSA_CANVAS_OUTPUT_DEFAULT_WIDTH		Default canvas width.
ofxSA_CANVAS_OUTPUT_DEFAULT_HEIGHT		Default canvas height.
ofxSA_TIMELINE_ENABLE	_None_	Enables a timeline GUI + utility for offline or real-time playback.
ofxSA_TIMELINE_AUTOSTART
ofxSA_TIMELINE_SINGLETON		Either to use the timeline as singleton. _(Unsupported set to false)_
ofxSA_TIMELINE_PAUSE_KEY		(verbose)
ofxSA_TEXRECORDER_ENABLE	ofxFFmpegRecorder	Support for recording the ofAppWindow/canvas.
ofxSA_TEXRECORDER_DEFAULT_CODEC
ofxSA_TEXRECORDER_DEFAULT_FILENAME
ofxSA_TEXRECORDER_DEFAULT_OUTPUT_FOLDER
ofxSA_TEXRECORDER_USE_OFXFASTFBOREADER	ofxFastFboReader	Either to use ofxFastFboReader (faster) or Openframeworks GPU->CPU transfers.
DEFAULT_TEXTURE_RECORDER_CONTAINER_EXT		(verbose)
ofxSA_TIME_MEASUREMENTS_ENABLE	ofxTimeMeasurements	Enables ofxTimeMeasurements integration for profiling/monitoring your ofApp.
ofxSA_TIME_MEASUREMENTS_TOGGLE_KEY OF_KEY_PAGE_DOWN		(verbose)
ofxSA_TIME_MEASUREMENTS_TOGGLE_KEY_NAME		(verbose)
ofxSA_TIME_MEASUREMENTS_AUTO_ENABLED		Auto-start on launch.
ofxSA_NDI_SENDER_ENABLE	ofxNDI	Outputs the canvas/ofAppWindow to NDI.
ofxSA_NEWFRAME_FLAGGER		Helper for detecting new frames. Also adds a Syphon option for only publishing new frames.
ofxSA_QUADWRAPPER_ENABLE	ofxQuadWarper	Enables quad wrapping on the output canvas.
ofxSA_CANVAS_OUTPUT_EXTRA_STANDALONE_WINDOW		Adds a 2ndary, standalone output window

ofxSaUserConfig

The ProjectGenerator erases project config settings / defines. For this reason, it's recommended to set them in a separate file (option 1). After using the PG on a project or example, you have to tell your compiler where this config file is by defining a macro constant : ofxSA_CONFIG_HEADER_FILE=ofxSAUserConfig will load ofxSAUserConfig.h. Refer to example-advanced/src/ofxSAUserConfig.h for a template. Alternative: ofxSA_CONFIG_HEADER_FILE="ofxSAUserConfig.h". (works better in XCODE)

In XCode projects add these to the "Other C Flags" and "Other C++ Flags" in your project settings :

-DofxSA_CONFIG_HEADER_FILE="ofxSAUserConfig.h"
-DofxAddons_ENABLE_IMGUI

In Qt-Creator, add this to your .qbs

of.defines: [
   'ofxSA_CONFIG_HEADER_FILE=ofxSAUserConfig',
   'ofxAddons_ENABLE_IMGUI', // if using ofxImGui
],

In Makefiles, add this to config.make :

PROJECT_DEFINES = ofxSA_CONFIG_HEADER_FILE=ofxSAUserConfig
PROJECT_DEFINES += ofxAddons_ENABLE_IMGUI

Examples

• example-simple : The minmal beare bones of ofxSimpleApp.
• example-advanced : The full blown version of ofxSimpleApp using all opt-ins.

Alternative usage

ofxSimpleApp embeds a few useful classes, you can use them by including the appropriate files from your project. Maybe some addons like ofxImGui are required. Configuration applies.

Future ideas

• A global keyboard shortcut system for registering actions ?

Contributing

ofxSimpleApp tries to simplify the creative process working with OpenFrameworks. Many features and addon integrations are probably missing or to be improved. Contributions are welcome, feel free to open an issue, ask questions or submit a PR.

Bigup to all OpenFrameworks contributors and plugin makers !

License

MIT - Made by Daan de Lange