1. NodeBox 3
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    2. NodeBox 3Node-based app for generative design and data visualization
    3. NodeBox OpenGLHardware-accelerated cross-platform graphics library
    4. NodeBox 1Generate 2D visuals using Python code (Mac OS X only)
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Geometry

NodeBox works with vector data. Unlike pixels, vector data can be scaled up indefinitely, always resulting in sharp lines:

Zoomed Out The viewer at 100%.

Zoomed In The viewer, zoomed in.

Vector data in NodeBox contains the following types of objects:

Scope: Paths, contours and points

A lot of nodes can operate on paths, contours or points. Here’s an example with the wiggle node:

Change the scope in the wiggle node:

Point numbers

Points in a path have an ordering defined by their index. You can see these indices by turning “Point Numbers” on in the viewer.

Here’s a simple example:

Connect Example

The viewer now shows this:

Connect Example Viewer

What happened? The connect node connects points of the incoming geometry, in order. By changing the order of the points (using the sort node), the shape changes. The points no longer follow the circle in a clockwise direction but are sorted by their X coordinates, in other words, points are sorted from left to right.

By playing with different sort orders you can get some interesting results. Try “Distance To Point” and dragging the point handle in the viewer. Changing the ellipse to a text path and see what you can come up with (you might want to increase the text size and the number of points in resample).