Geometries

The complete, exact list, read from glyphviz_core/geometry_data.py:10-76 — the single source shared by the GL renderer (glyphviz_gl/geometry.py) and the Properties Panel's Geometry dropdown (GEO_NAMES, populated at main_window.py:528-531, 767-770).

What geometry controls

Geometry is the shape assigned to an individual node — independent of topology, which governs how a parent arranges its children in space. A node's geometry answers "what does this one point in the hierarchy look like," while topology answers "how are this node's children laid out."

The full list

IDs 0–22 are commented in source as matching ANTz's kNPgeo* enum (geometry_data.py:9); IDs 23–26 are explicitly marked as GlyphViz-only extensions with no ANTz/GaiaViz equivalent.

ID	Name (GEO_NAMES)	Constant	Notes
0	Cube Wire	GEO_CUBE_WIRE	Wireframe; solid pair is GEO_CUBE
1	Cube	GEO_CUBE
2	Sphere Wire	GEO_SPHERE_WIRE	Wireframe; solid pair is GEO_SPHERE
3	Sphere	GEO_SPHERE
4	Cone Wire	GEO_CONE_WIRE	Wireframe; solid pair is GEO_CONE
5	Cone	GEO_CONE
6	Torus Wire	GEO_TORUS_WIRE	Wireframe; solid pair is GEO_TORUS
7	Torus	GEO_TORUS	Shape driven by the node's ratio field (minor radius as a fraction of overall radius, default TORUS_DEFAULT_RATIO = 0.14)
8	Dodecahedron Wire	GEO_DODECA_WIRE	Wireframe; solid pair is GEO_DODECA
9	Dodecahedron	GEO_DODECA
10	Octahedron Wire	GEO_OCTA_WIRE	Wireframe; solid pair is GEO_OCTA
11	Octahedron	GEO_OCTA	Default geometry for newly-created nodes (main_window.py:531)
12	Tetrahedron Wire	GEO_TETRA_WIRE	Wireframe; solid pair is GEO_TETRA
13	Tetrahedron	GEO_TETRA
14	Icosahedron Wire	GEO_ICOSA_WIRE	Wireframe; solid pair is GEO_ICOSA
15	Icosahedron	GEO_ICOSA
16	Pin	GEO_PIN	ANTz's "ice-cream cone": a 10:1 cone standing on its apex at the node's own origin, shaft rising along +Z, domed at the top. Unlike the other glyphs it is not centred on its origin — that placement is what lets Pin-topology children ride the shaft (see Topologies)
17	Pin Wire	GEO_PIN_WIRE	Wireframe pair — note the reversed solid/wire ID order vs. every other pair above
18	Cylinder Wire	GEO_CYLINDER_WIRE	Wireframe; solid pair is GEO_CYLINDER
19	Cylinder	GEO_CYLINDER
20	Grid Wire	GEO_GRID_WIRE	Wireframe; solid pair is GEO_GRID
21	Grid	GEO_GRID	Flat square in the local XY plane, normal along +Z — matches ANTz's Grid node (topo=Plane, geometry=Square)
22	Point	GEO_POINT	Fixed-pixel-size GL_POINTS sprite; size driven by the node's ratio field
23	Mesh (Imported)	GEO_MESH	GlyphViz extension — arbitrary triangle mesh imported via glyphviz_core/mesh_loader.py (OBJ/STL/PLY/glTF), selected per-node by Node.mesh_id rather than a fixed shape. Each imported mesh gets its own entry in the geometry dropdowns ("Mesh 1: name", "Mesh 2: name", …); picking one sets both geometry and mesh_id
24	Circle	GEO_CIRCLE	GlyphViz extension — flat 2-D marker, world-space plate (like Grid), compiled to display lists for scatter-plot-scale performance
25	Cross	GEO_CROSS	GlyphViz extension — same idea as Circle
26	Star	GEO_STAR	GlyphViz extension — same idea as Circle
27	Line	GEO_LINE	GlyphViz extension, Link nodes only — the classic thin connector, and a Link's default. Width is ratio × 20 px
28	Prism (Textured)	GEO_LINE_PRISM	GlyphViz extension, Link nodes only — a textured 4-sided tube between the two ends, scrollable via rotate_rate_z to show directed flow. ratio is its world-space half-width

GEO_COUNT = 29 (geometry_data.py).

Geometry on a Link node

A Link (type=7) is an edge between two other nodes — its parent_id is the A-end and its child_id the B-end — and its geometry picks how that edge is drawn. All of the following are selected by the geometry field alone, with no extra column, so a link's look travels with the CSV:

• 27 Line and 28 Prism (Textured) are the two line modes above.
• 22 Point also draws as a plain line: a fixed-pixel sprite has no extent to stretch along an axis, so there is no glyph reading of it.
• Every other ID renders that glyph stretched between the link's two ends. This is ANTz's own link behavior, and it is what lets an edge become a cylinder rod, a tapering cone (whose apex points at the B-end — a natural arrowhead for directed graphs), a wireframe cage, an imported mesh, or an arbitrarily distorted version of any other shape.

Three rules govern a glyph link's transform:

Property	How it is set
Length	The distance between the two endpoints. The glyph's own local Z extent is mapped onto the A→B segment, so it starts on A and ends on B exactly — including Pin, whose apex sits at its local origin rather than being centred
Thickness	ratio, applied to both cross-axes. One field controls thickness whatever geometry the link carries — the same field the Line and Prism modes already use for their width
Orientation	Derived entirely from the two endpoints. A link has no independent pose, so its own translate, rotate, and scale fields play no part. Roll is gravity-referenced, so a link does not spin about its own axis as it swings around

Press O / Shift+O with a link selected to cycle it through every geometry (Mesh and Point are skipped, as they are for ordinary nodes). A selected glyph link draws the usual yellow selection box; a Line or Prism link does not.

Two things worth knowing:

• On a Torus link, ratio does double duty — it is both the thickness and the torus's own minor-radius proportion. Values above 1.0 make a degenerate torus. The result at sane ratios is a hollow tube running along the edge.
• The flat geometries (Grid, Circle, Cross, Star) have no Z extent to stretch, so they render as a plate at the midpoint of the edge rather than spanning it.

Performance is left to you: a scene with thousands of solid glyph links draws thousands of glyphs. Drop back to Line where the edge is not the point.

Texture support

Setting a node's texture_id maps the image onto the solid geometries: Cube, Sphere, Cone, Cylinder, Torus, Grid, Pin, the four Platonic solids, and the flat markers Circle, Cross, and Star. Two geometries take no texture — the 11 wireframe variants (there is no surface to map onto), and Point, whose fixed-pixel GL_POINTS sprite has no geometry to carry coordinates. In both cases the node simply renders in its solid color; nothing errors.

The flat markers crop the image to their silhouette rather than stretching it to fit, using the same image window the Grid uses across its square. A Circle shows a circular crop of the picture, a Star a star-shaped one, and a Cross the picture's central vertical and horizontal strips. Being flat, they show their texture face-on and disappear to an edge when viewed side-on.

Picking behavior

The 11 wireframe geometries render as outlines, but for click-picking purposes each is mapped to its solid equivalent in a dedicated pick pass (WIRE_TO_SOLID, geometry_data.py:87-99) — so clicking anywhere inside a wireframe shape's silhouette registers a hit, not just clicks landing precisely on a visible wire.

Next step

See Topologies for how a parent node positions its children, or Properties Panel for where geometry is set in the GUI.