Adds `operator|` in `namespace CGAL` so package-local named parameters
can be combined left-to-right without modifying CGAL upstream:
auto p = CGAL::parameters::gradient_tolerance(1e-12)
| CGAL::parameters::max_iterations(500)
| CGAL::parameters::output_uv_map(uv);
CGAL::discrete_conformal_map_euclidean(mesh, p);
Why not the canonical `.a().b().c()` syntax
───────────────────────────────────────────
CGAL's standard chaining mechanism requires registering each named
parameter as a member function on `Named_function_parameters` via the
`CGAL_add_named_parameter` macro in
`CGAL/STL_Extension/internal/parameters_interface.h` — a vendored
upstream file that conformallab++ deliberately treats as read-only.
Adding member-function chainers for our package-local tags would
require either forking CGAL or modifying the vendored copy. Neither
is acceptable for a library that wants to remain portable across
future CGAL releases.
The pipe-operator achieves the same compositional semantics via a
free function in `namespace CGAL` (so ADL finds it for
`Named_function_parameters` operands). Implementation: rebuild the
right-hand-side `Named_function_parameters` with the left-hand-side
as its `Base`, producing an indistinguishable chain that every entry
function accepts unchanged.
Implementation: `code/include/CGAL/Conformal_map/internal/parameters.h`
lines 158-187. The operator is constrained to right-hand-sides with
`No_property` base (i.e. fresh single-parameter packs from the helper
functions), so it never collides with any future CGAL operator on the
same type.
Tests (2 new, total Phase-8b-Lite suite 15 → 17)
────────────────────────────────────────────────
* CGALPhase8bLite.NamedParamPipe_MultipleParamsTakeEffect
Chain three parameters; verify all three take effect (tight
tolerance respected + UV pmap populated + iteration cap honoured).
* CGALPhase8bLite.NamedParamPipe_TwoParams
Chain two parameters; verify max_iterations(0) blocks the loop
even when combined with another param.
Full CGAL suite: 234/234 PASSED, 0 SKIPPED (was 232).
Total: 257/257 PASSED, 0 SKIPPED (was 255).
scripts/check-test-counts.sh: OK.
Documentation updates
─────────────────────
* doc/tutorials/add-output-uv-map.md §3.4: "Current limitation: no
chaining" → "Chaining: use the pipe operator `|`". Explains why
CGAL's `.member()` syntax isn't available and shows the `|`
workaround with a working code example.
* doc/architecture/locked-vs-flexible.md §8: chaining now flagged as
shipped via pipe; recommended posture says `.member()` chaining
only if a user pushes for the CGAL-canonical syntax.
* doc/roadmap/porting-status.md §5: API limitations table updated.
* doc/api/tests.md: CGALPhase8bLite row 15 → 17, total 232 → 234.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
15 KiB
Porting status overview
Snapshot date: 2026-05-22 (commit graph at v0.9.0 + 2 open PRs).
Audience. External collaborators evaluating whether to use, extend, or contribute to conformallab++. This document is the operational truth of which Java mathematics is reachable from C++ today, with what API, and with which caveats. For the longer plan see
phases.md, for the formal port-vs-research classification seeresearch-track.md, for the cross-reference with the Java original seejava-parity.md.
1. The 25 000 lines of Java in one table
de.varylab.discreteconformal
├── functional/ ~3 000 LoC ████████████░░░░ Phase 3 + 9a ✅
├── unwrapper/ ~3 500 LoC ████████░░░░░░░░ Phase 5/6/7 (basic 3 modes) ✅
│ residual: Stereographic, CircleDomain, Koebe, CirclePattern
├── util/ ~5 000 LoC ████░░░░░░░░░░░░ partial — main utilities ported
│ residual: Homology, Holomorphic / Harmonic forms,
│ FundamentalPolygon, Surgery, Cutting
├── heds/ (Co* data struct) ~3 000 LoC ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ REPLACED by CGAL::Surface_mesh ❌ intentional
├── plugin/ ~7 000 LoC ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ SKIP (Swing UI, GLSL viewer) ❌ intentional
├── numerics/ (PETSc glue) ~1 500 LoC ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ REPLACED by Eigen ❌ intentional
├── math/, logging/, ... ~2 000 LoC ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ REPLACED by std::* / Eigen ❌ intentional
└── total ~25 000 LoC
Coverage of the mathematics: about 4 500 of the 11 000 LoC of genuinely mathematical Java code is portrayed in C++ — ~41% of the maths, ~75% of the "core math we actually want" (Phase 1–7 + 9a + 9b together cover the algorithmically central mass).
The remaining ~6 500 LoC of port-worthy maths is catalogued in
java-parity.md and broken into Phases 9c / 10a /
10b / 10b' / 11.
2. Five DCE models — operational status matrix
The library supports five discrete-conformal-equivalence models on
the same CGAL::Surface_mesh<P>. All can be used from both the
legacy API (code/include/*.hpp) and the CGAL public API
(<CGAL/Discrete_*.h>).
| Model | Native space | DOF location | Java port? | Hessian | Newton | CGAL entry | UV out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Euclidean | ℝ² | vertex | EuclideanCyclic 530 LoC | analytic (cot-Laplace) | ✅ | discrete_conformal_map_euclidean |
✅ Point_2 |
| Spherical | S² | vertex | Spherical 458 LoC | analytic | ✅ | discrete_conformal_map_spherical |
✅ Point_3 |
| Hyper-ideal | H² (Poincaré) | vertex + edge | HyperIdeal 311 LoC (no Hess) | block-FD (Phase 9b, 96× speed-up); analytic planned | ✅ | discrete_conformal_map_hyper_ideal |
✅ Point_2 |
| CP-Euclidean (BPS) | face circles | face | CPEuclidean 260 LoC | analytic 2×2-per-edge | ✅ | discrete_circle_packing_euclidean |
⛔ N/A |
| Inversive Distance | vertex circles | vertex | ❌ no Java (Luo 2004 + Glickenstein 2011 from literature) | FD (analytic planned) | ✅ | discrete_inversive_distance_map |
⛔ pending |
Total: 250+ tests covering all five models, 0 skipped. Per-suite
breakdown: doc/api/tests.md.
What "UV out" means
The output_uv_map(pmap) named parameter, when supplied, runs the
relevant *_layout() step internally and writes per-vertex coordinates
into pmap — no separate user code needed. See
doc/tutorials/add-output-uv-map.md.
- Euclidean / Spherical / HyperIdeal: shipped.
- CP-Euclidean: conceptually not applicable (face-based packing
produces face-circles, not per-vertex UV — needs a separate
output_circle_mapdesign). - Inversive Distance: requires
inversive_distance_layout()using Luo's edge-length formulaℓ² = r_i² + r_j² + 2 I_ij r_i r_j. ~3 days work, on the wishlist.
3. Topology infrastructure
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mesh I/O (OFF / OBJ / PLY) | ✅ | mesh_io.hpp via CGAL::IO |
| Gauss–Bonnet check & enforce | ✅ | gauss_bonnet.hpp |
| Cut graph (tree-cotree, Erickson–Whittlesey) | ✅ | cut_graph.hpp, produces 2g seam edges |
| Layout / embedding (priority-BFS trilateration) | ✅ | ℝ² / S² / Poincaré disk |
| Halfedge UV (seam-aware texture atlas) | ✅ | layout.hpp |
| Möbius holonomy SU(1,1) | ✅ | for hyperbolic mode, genus 1 |
| Period matrix τ ∈ ℍ + SL(2,ℤ) reduction | ✅ | genus 1 only |
| Fundamental domain (parallelogram) | ✅ | genus 1 only |
| Fundamental domain (4g-polygon) | 🔲 | Phase 9c — biggest remaining Java-port item |
| Real mesh cuts (CuttingUtility ops) | 🔲 | Phase 9c prerequisite |
4. Solver infrastructure
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Newton with line search | ✅ | newton_solver.hpp, all five solvers |
| SimplicialLDLT + SparseQR fallback | ✅ | gauge-singular meshes handled automatically |
| Block-FD Hessian framework | ✅ | shipped for HyperIdeal (Phase 9b); 96× speed-up |
| Analytic Hessian via Schläfli | 🔲 | Phase 9b-analytic; derivation in hyperideal-hessian-derivation.md |
5. CGAL public API (<CGAL/Discrete_*.h>)
After Phase 8a MVP + 8b-Lite (both shipped in v0.9.0):
| Public header | Provides |
|---|---|
<CGAL/Discrete_conformal_map.h> |
discrete_conformal_map_euclidean / _spherical / _hyper_ideal + Conformal_map_result<FT> |
<CGAL/Discrete_circle_packing.h> |
Default_cp_euclidean_traits + discrete_circle_packing_euclidean + Circle_packing_result<FT> |
<CGAL/Discrete_inversive_distance.h> |
Default_inversive_distance_traits + discrete_inversive_distance_map |
<CGAL/Conformal_layout.h> |
Thin re-exports of layout functions in the CGAL:: namespace |
<CGAL/Conformal_map_traits.h> |
ConformalMapTraits concept + Default_conformal_map_traits |
<CGAL/Conformal_map/internal/parameters.h> (private) |
Named-parameter tags |
Named parameters available:
| Parameter | Effect |
|---|---|
vertex_curvature_map(pmap) |
Per-vertex Θ targets; if omitted, "natural-theta" makes x = 0 the equilibrium |
fixed_vertex_map(pmap) |
Gauge pin; if omitted, first vertex is pinned |
gradient_tolerance(eps) |
Newton stop threshold (default 1e-10) |
max_iterations(n) |
Newton iteration cap (default 200) |
output_uv_map(pmap) |
Run layout + write per-vertex coordinates |
normalise_layout(flag) |
Canonical post-layout normalisation (PCA / north-pole / Möbius) |
Known limitations (documented for the meeting):
-
Chaining via pipe operator. CGAL-style
.a().b().c()is not yet implemented for package-local tags (would require modifying CGAL upstream). conformallab++ providesoperator|instead — seecode/include/CGAL/Conformal_map/internal/parameters.hand the testCGALPhase8bLite.NamedParamPipe_MultipleParamsTakeEffect. Example:gradient_tolerance(1e-12) | max_iterations(500) | output_uv_map(uv). -
Generic FaceGraph not yet supported. All Default traits specialise on
CGAL::Surface_mesh<P>only. AddingPolyhedron_3,OpenMesh-adapter,pmp::SurfaceMeshis Phase 8a.2 — speculative, waiting on a concrete user request. -
CGAL submission-readiness incomplete. User_manual / PackageDescription.txt / CGAL-format tests are not yet written (Phase 8c / 8d). Required for upstream submission, not for current users.
6. What's reachable from the Java original today
Cross-reference between Java classes and their C++ port status. For
the full list see java-parity.md; the table below
gives the operational summary for a Java user wondering "where is X?".
Direct ports
| Java | C++ |
|---|---|
EuclideanCyclicFunctional |
euclidean_functional.hpp |
SphericalFunctional |
spherical_functional.hpp |
HyperIdealFunctional |
hyper_ideal_functional.hpp |
HyperIdealUtility, …Geometry |
hyper_ideal_utility.hpp, hyper_ideal_geometry.hpp |
HyperIdealHyperellipticUtility |
hyper_ideal_visualization_utility.hpp |
CPEuclideanFunctional |
cp_euclidean_functional.hpp |
Clausen |
clausen.hpp |
MeshIO (jReality JRS) |
mesh_io.hpp (CGAL::IO, OFF/OBJ/PLY) |
CuttingUtility::point_in_triangle_2d |
geometry_utils.hpp partial port |
ConvergenceUtility::circumradius |
geometry_utils.hpp |
HomologyUtility::compute_generators |
cut_graph.hpp (different algorithm: tree-cotree) |
PeriodMatrixUtility (genus 1) |
period_matrix.hpp |
UnwrapperUtility::EuclideanUnwrapper |
newton_euclidean() + euclidean_layout() |
UnwrapperUtility::SphericalUnwrapper |
newton_spherical() + spherical_layout() |
UnwrapperUtility::HyperbolicUnwrapper |
newton_hyper_ideal() + hyper_ideal_layout() |
Not-yet-ported, in roadmap
| Java | Suggested phase | Lines | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
FundamentalPolygonUtility + CanonicalFormUtility |
9c | 698+532 | genus > 1 fundamental domain |
CuttingUtility + SurgeryUtility (full ops) |
9c | 584+217 | real mesh-cut operations |
DiscreteHarmonicFormUtility |
10a | 657 | harmonic 1-forms |
DiscreteHolomorphicFormUtility |
10a | 285 | holomorphic differentials |
CanonicalBasisUtility |
10a | 337 | symplectic homology basis |
DualityUtility, HomologyUtility (full) |
10a | 308+122 | primal/dual cohomology |
DiscreteRiemannUtility |
10b | 186 | period matrix for genus > 1 |
HyperbolicCyclicFunctional |
10b–c | 530 | hyperbolic energy (different from hyper-ideal) |
QuasiisothermicUtility + SinConditionApplication |
10b | ~1200 | Lawson correspondence |
StereographicUnwrapper |
10b' | 266 | S² → ℂ atlas |
KoebePolyhedron |
10c | 321 | KAT circle packing |
MobiusCenteringFunctional |
10c | 289 | sphere pre-processing |
CircleDomainUnwrapper |
11c | 570 | multiply-connected planar regions |
Intentionally not ported
CoHDS(half-edge data structure) — replaced byCGAL::Surface_mesh. ~3 000 Java LoC saved.plugin/*Swing UI — out of scope; C++ project is a library, not an application.unwrapper/numerics/*PETSc/Tao wrappers — replaced by Eigen, which is header-only and bundled.math/CP1,math/Cn, … — redundant withstd::complex,Eigen::Matrix.
7. Things in C++ that the Java original does NOT have
These are conformallab++ contributions beyond porting — the
"research extensions" track (research-track.md).
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Block-FD HyperIdeal Hessian (96× speed-up) | ✅ shipped (Phase 9b) |
| HyperIdeal Hessian (any kind) | ✅ shipped — Java has hasHessian()==false |
| Inversive-Distance functional (Luo 2004) | ✅ shipped — implemented from paper, not from Java |
<CGAL/Discrete_*.h> public-API surface |
✅ shipped (Phase 8a + 8b-Lite) |
| Cross-validation framework (4 acceptance criteria) | ✅ documented in add-inversive-distance.md |
| Genus-2 test mesh + brezel2.obj scalability | ✅ shipped |
Memory-safe layout via halfedge_uv storage |
✅ shipped |
doc/release-policy.md formal release policy |
✅ shipped (PR #13) |
| Analytic HyperIdeal Hessian via Schläfli | 🔲 derivation written (hyperideal-hessian-derivation.md); implementation Phase 9b-analytic |
| Output UV map integrated into wrappers | ✅ shipped (PR #14) for 3 of 5 models |
| Full uniformisation for genus g ≥ 2 | 🔲 Phase 10c — fully new research |
8. How to "use the library today"
The fastest path for a mathematician evaluating the library:
# Build + run the full test suite
git clone <repo> && cd ConformalLabpp
cmake -S code -B build -DWITH_CGAL_TESTS=ON
cmake --build build --target conformallab_cgal_tests -j$(nproc)
ctest --test-dir build -R "^cgal\." --output-on-failure
# Try the CGAL API on a mesh
./build/examples/example_layout my_mesh.off
To experiment with a new functional, follow
doc/tutorials/add-inversive-distance.md.
To extend the CGAL API with new named parameters, follow
doc/tutorials/add-output-uv-map.md.
To optimise an FD Hessian, follow
doc/tutorials/block-fd-hessian.md.
For the architectural commitments that constrain future contributions,
see doc/architecture/locked-vs-flexible.md.