Ephemeral

Outputs the ephemeral state of the graph. This state is set programmatically.

Inputs

No inputs.

Outputs

• is ephemeral

  • The boolean value signifying whether the graph is in an ephemeral state or not.

Note(s)

• Knowing and understanding the ephemeral state of a graph can be a key part to creating optimized configurable components. In layman's terms, the ephemeral state is a way to explain when a graph's inputs are actively changing (such as dragging a slider of a parameter).

  • This is useful as we can utilize this state with the special functionality of the Switch node whereby we can switch between computationally light and heavy geometry based on what state the graph is in. If the graph is in an ephemeral state, switching to a computationally light geometry will give more immediate and efficient temporary output versus a more computationally heavy (and therefore slower) version of the output. See the graph below for an example.

  • It is important to note that simply creating a simple version of an output based on the computationally heavy version will NOT make the overall graph more optimized. The light version will need to be largely isolated from the heavy version (node and connection wise) in order to maximize optimization. This is because of the inherent way the graph computes geometry and data (see the Graph section for more information).

• For more information on the concept of Ephemeral state, see: Ephemeral state

• Other names for this node include: Temporary state, Dragging slider, and Preview.

Example(s)

• Ephemeral State