Open Source Physics (OSP) Guide - Main Index
Welcome to the Open Source Physics (OSP) Guide notes. Here you’ll find an overview of each major package and interface, plus links to deeper discussions on specific classes, methods, and usage examples.
Table of Contents
- Frames Package
- Display Package
- Controls Package
- Drawables
- Numerics Package
- ODE Solvers
- Animation and Threads
- Larger Examples & Specialized Methods
What is Open Source Physics?
Open Source Physics (OSP) is a Java-based library for computational physics, numerical analysis, and interactive visualization. It supports:
- Creating and customizing graphical user interfaces for physics simulations
- Drawing and animating objects in 2D/3D
- Plotting data in various frames
- Solving ODEs (ordinary differential equations) using built-in numerical integrators
- Managing controls for user input (like text fields, sliders, buttons)
- Incorporating advanced features such as video analysis, XML support, and more.
Each section below links to a dedicated note with more detailed discussions of the classes, interfaces, or major methods.
Quick Start Reference
- Key idea: OSP encourages the Model-View-Control (MVC) pattern.
- Model: your physics equations and state.
- View: frames, plots, or 3D rendering.
- Control: your user-interface logic and event-handlers.
Schematic of model view control architecture (from free code camp)
In these notes, you’ll see how each package fits into that pattern.
Continue with Frames Package → for 2D/3D drawing frames and usage.