Learning to retrieve and save information from an external file and assigning them as variables in JavaScript using three.js

Question

Learning to retrieve and save information from an external file and assigning them as variables in JavaScript using three.js

As a newcomer to three.js, I'm still figuring things out and may be treading familiar ground with this query. Here's the situation: I've got an external .txt file that lays out the x, y, z positions for 256 atoms. The opening lines of said .txt file look something like this:

256
1 0.702825 2.71217 2.71612
1 16.9592 2.64886 6.79019
1 0.681418 2.68359 10.8911
...

The initial row reveals the atom count in the compound and the first column signifies atomic size, while the remaining figures represent the x, y, z values for each individual atom. As of now, I've manually inputted the position of the first atom as follows:

...
scene.add(sphere); 
sphere.position.set(0.702825, 2.71217, 2.71612);

My goal is to read through the .txt file line by line and extract subsequent x, y, z positions into variables. How can I leverage the details stored in the external file?

javascript three.js

Answer 1

Answer №1

To retrieve the contents of a file, consider utilizing AJAX technology.

For example: Check out this answer on SO.
Once you have obtained the file data, you can use the String#split function to segment it into lines and columns.

For example: Refer to this SO post
Finally, you can treat the data as an Array.

Answer 2

To retrieve the contents of a file, consider utilizing AJAX technology.

For example: Check out this answer on SO.
Once you have obtained the file data, you can use the String#split function to segment it into lines and columns.

For example: Refer to this SO post
Finally, you can treat the data as an Array.

Answer 3

Answer №2

Utilize the power of the fetch API:

fetch('myfile.txt').then(response => response.text()).then(text => {
  const elements = text.split('\n')  
    .map(line => line.trim())     
    .slice(1)                     
    .map(line => line
      .split(' ')                 
      .map(Number))               
    .map(([size, x, y, z]) => ({ size, x, y, z })); 
});

elements will now hold data like this:

[
  { size: 1, x: 0.702825, y: 2.71217, z: 2.71612 },
  { size: 1, x: 16.9592, y: 2.64886, z: 6.79019 },
  ...
]

You can easily incorporate this into your Three.js project.

To iterate through the elements, you could do the following:

elements.forEach(({ x, y, z }) => { 
  // ...
  sphere.position.set(x, y, z);
  // ...
});

or:

elements.forEach(atom => { 
  // ...
  sphere.position.set(atom.x, atom.y, atom.z);
  // ...
});

or:

for (let i = 0, len = elements.length; i < len; i++) { 
  // ...
  sphere.position.set(elements[i].x, elements[i].y, elements[i].z);
  // ...
}

Alternatively, you can use XMLHttpRequest instead of the fetch API.

Answer 4

Utilize the power of the fetch API:

fetch('myfile.txt').then(response => response.text()).then(text => {
  const elements = text.split('\n')  
    .map(line => line.trim())     
    .slice(1)                     
    .map(line => line
      .split(' ')                 
      .map(Number))               
    .map(([size, x, y, z]) => ({ size, x, y, z })); 
});

elements will now hold data like this:

[
  { size: 1, x: 0.702825, y: 2.71217, z: 2.71612 },
  { size: 1, x: 16.9592, y: 2.64886, z: 6.79019 },
  ...
]

You can easily incorporate this into your Three.js project.

To iterate through the elements, you could do the following:

elements.forEach(({ x, y, z }) => { 
  // ...
  sphere.position.set(x, y, z);
  // ...
});

or:

elements.forEach(atom => { 
  // ...
  sphere.position.set(atom.x, atom.y, atom.z);
  // ...
});

or:

for (let i = 0, len = elements.length; i < len; i++) { 
  // ...
  sphere.position.set(elements[i].x, elements[i].y, elements[i].z);
  // ...
}

Alternatively, you can use XMLHttpRequest instead of the fetch API.

Learning to retrieve and save information from an external file and assigning them as variables in JavaScript using three.js

Answer №1

Answer №2

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