Skip to content

format_spec.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
81 lines (50 loc) · 1.7 KB

format_spec.md

File metadata and controls

81 lines (50 loc) · 1.7 KB
Raw

TETRA File Format Specification

The .tetra file format is a simple, human-readable format designed to store volumetric tetrahedral meshes. It contains vertex positions and tetrahedral elements defined by four vertex indices.

1. Structure

Each line of a .tetra file represents either:

  • A vertex position, using the v prefix
  • A tetrahedral element, using the t prefix

Comments can be included using #.

Vertex Definition

Each vertex line starts with v followed by the X, Y, Z coordinates.

v 1.0 0.0 0.0
v 0.0 1.0 0.0
v 0.0 0.0 1.0

Tetrahedron Definition

Each tetrahedron line starts with t followed by four 0-based vertex indices.

t 0 1 2 3

This defines a tetrahedron using the 4 vertices with indices 0, 1, 2, and 3 (in the order defined in the vertex list).

2. Example

A simple .tetra file representing a single tetrahedron might look like this:

# Vertices
v 0.0 0.0 0.0
v 1.0 0.0 0.0
v 0.0 1.0 0.0
v 0.0 0.0 1.0

# Tetrahedra
t 0 1 2 3

3. Notes

  • Indices are zero-based
  • All tetrahedra should reference valid vertices
  • No assumptions are made about orientation, winding, or manifoldness
  • This format does not support metadata, normals, colors, or surface extraction — it is designed for simplicity

4. Compatibility

This format is intended to be used with:

  • The TETRA Exporter for Blender
  • The TETRA Importer for Unity or other custom engines
  • Future tools that may extend .tetra with optional headers or regions

5. Licensing

This specification and format are provided under the MIT License, as part of the TETRA project.