Visualization

The Visualization class manages a collection of plots that display element components in real time. It reads directly from the simulation's component buffers on every frame.

#include "visualization/visualization.h"

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Construction

auto simulation    = std::make_shared<Simulation>("sim");
auto visualization = std::make_shared<Visualization>(simulation);

Visualization holds a shared reference to the simulation and queries its components during render().

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Plot types

Enum	Description
PlotType::LINE_PLOT	1D line chart — one or more overlaid curves
PlotType::HEATMAP	2D color map — one 2D data matrix (e.g. coupling weights)

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Adding plots

All plot() overloads share the same general form: provide common parameters, type-specific parameters, and a list of {element name, component name} pairs that specify what data to display.

Full-parameter overload

visualization->plot(
    PlotCommonParameters{
        PlotType::LINE_PLOT,                            // plot type
        PlotDimensions{ xMin, xMax, yMin, yMax,         // axis limits
                        xStep, yStep },                  // tick steps
        PlotAnnotations{ "Title", "X label", "Y label" } // labels
    },
    LinePlotParameters{},
    {
        { "element name", "component name" },
        { "element name", "component name" },
        // ...
    }
);

Heatmap example

visualization->plot(
    PlotCommonParameters{
        PlotType::HEATMAP,
        PlotDimensions{ 0.0, 280, 0.0, 280, 1.0, 1.0 },
        PlotAnnotations{ "Coupling weights", "Output position", "Input position" }
    },
    HeatmapParameters{},
    { { "coupling element name", "weights" } }
);

Shorthand overloads

// Use all defaults
visualization->plot();

// Just specify the data (default common parameters)
visualization->plot({ { "field", "activation" } });
visualization->plot("field name", "activation");

// Add data to an existing plot by its ID
visualization->plot(plotId, { { "field", "output" } });
visualization->plot(plotId, "field name", "output");

---

PlotCommonParameters

struct PlotCommonParameters {
    PlotType       type;
    PlotDimensions dimensions;
    PlotAnnotations annotations;
};

PlotDimensions

struct PlotDimensions {
    double xMin, xMax;   // horizontal axis range
    double yMin, yMax;   // vertical axis range
    double xStep, yStep; // tick mark step sizes
};

PlotAnnotations

struct PlotAnnotations {
    std::string title;
    std::string xLabel;
    std::string yLabel;
};

---

Removing plots

visualization->removePlot(plotId);
visualization->removeAllPlots();
visualization->removePlottingDataFromPlot(plotId, { "field name", "activation" });

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Rendering

render() is called automatically by Application::step() every frame. You do not need to call it manually when using Application.

visualization->render();

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Accessing plots programmatically

auto plots = visualization->getPlots();
// Returns: unordered_map<shared_ptr<Plot>, vector<pair<string,string>>>
// Key: plot object, Value: list of {element, component} pairs