Flowgraph Link

Represents a connection between two pins in a flowgraph graph. Handles link initialization, drawing (including flow animation markers), tooltips, serialization, and quick-access conversion.

No public module exports - instantiated via constructor function returned by require.

Purpose

Links connect a source output pin to a target input pin. They:

Wire pin values so targetNode.pinIn[name] reads from sourcePin
Track flow state for animated flow markers in the editor
Support hiding (shortcut display) and disabling
Handle state-graph directional routing (N/E/S/W transition pins)

Class (`C`) - Key Methods

Method	Signature	Description
`init`	`(graph, sourcePin, targetPin)`	Allocates two IDs (main + hidden highlight), wires the target pin to read from source pin, registers in graph's links table, notifies both pins and nodes of the new link, sets color based on pin type.
`draw`	`()`	Renders the link line with type-colored styling. For flow/state pins, shows animated flow markers when active. For state links, routes through directional transition pins. Draws tooltip on hover.
`drawLinkTooltip`	`()`	Shows source pin type icon and current value on hover.
`drawLabel`	`(sPin, tPin)`	Draws a text label at the midpoint between two state transition pins.
`getDirPins`	`()`	Determines compass directions (N/E/S/W) between source and target nodes based on relative position.
`doFlow`	`()`	Queues a flow animation for next draw.
`showContextMenu`	`(menuPos)`	Context menu with Toggle Hide, Delete, and debug ID display.
`convertToQuickAccess`	`()`	Converts the link into quick-access pins (hidden link with named aliases) and deletes the visual link.
`__onSerialize`	`()`	Returns `{sourceNodeId, sourcePinName, targetNodeId, targetPinName, hidden}`.
`__onDeserialized`	`(data)`	Restores hidden state from serialized data.

Link Properties

Property	Type	Description
`id`	number	Primary link ID for drawing and selection.
`hiddenId`	number	Secondary ID for highlight overlay rendering.
`sourcePin`	pin	Output pin this link reads from.
`targetPin`	pin	Input pin this link writes to.
`sourceNode`	node	Node owning the source pin.
`targetNode`	node	Node owning the target pin.
`color`	ImVec4	Link color derived from pin type (impulse/chainFlow override).
`hidden`	bool	If true, drawn as a shortcut (abbreviated) link.
`disabled`	bool	If true, link is inactive.
`label`	string	Text label for state transition links.

Flow Animation

-- Flow markers animate along the link when:
-- For flow/state pins: source pin has value AND target node was used this frame
-- For data pins: source pin was used this frame
-- Animation speed: 30 units/sec (0 when paused)
-- Marker distance: 40px (flow) or 10px (data)
-- Duration: 0.5 seconds

Construction

-- link.lua returns a constructor function:
local createLink = require('/lua/ge/extensions/flowgraph/link')
local link = createLink(graph, sourcePin, targetPin)
-- Automatically registers in graph.links and wires pinIn

Pin Wiring

-- On link creation, the target node's pinIn is wired:
rawset(self.targetNode.pinIn, targetPin.name, sourcePin)

-- For flow pins, multiple sources are tracked:
self.targetNode._mInFlow[targetPin.name] = { sourcePin1, sourcePin2, ... }

Serialization Format

-- Compact array format:
{ sourceNodeId, sourcePinName, targetNodeId, targetPinName, hidden_or_nil }

Purpose

Links connect a source output pin to a target input pin. They:

Wire pin values so targetNode.pinIn[name] reads from sourcePin
Track flow state for animated flow markers in the editor
Support hiding (shortcut display) and disabling
Handle state-graph directional routing (N/E/S/W transition pins)

Class (`C`) - Key Methods

Method	Signature	Description
`init`	`(graph, sourcePin, targetPin)`	Allocates two IDs (main + hidden highlight), wires the target pin to read from source pin, registers in graph's links table, notifies both pins and nodes of the new link, sets color based on pin type.
`draw`	`()`	Renders the link line with type-colored styling. For flow/state pins, shows animated flow markers when active. For state links, routes through directional transition pins. Draws tooltip on hover.
`drawLinkTooltip`	`()`	Shows source pin type icon and current value on hover.
`drawLabel`	`(sPin, tPin)`	Draws a text label at the midpoint between two state transition pins.
`getDirPins`	`()`	Determines compass directions (N/E/S/W) between source and target nodes based on relative position.
`doFlow`	`()`	Queues a flow animation for next draw.
`showContextMenu`	`(menuPos)`	Context menu with Toggle Hide, Delete, and debug ID display.
`convertToQuickAccess`	`()`	Converts the link into quick-access pins (hidden link with named aliases) and deletes the visual link.
`__onSerialize`	`()`	Returns `{sourceNodeId, sourcePinName, targetNodeId, targetPinName, hidden}`.
`__onDeserialized`	`(data)`	Restores hidden state from serialized data.

Link Properties

Property	Type	Description
`id`	number	Primary link ID for drawing and selection.
`hiddenId`	number	Secondary ID for highlight overlay rendering.
`sourcePin`	pin	Output pin this link reads from.
`targetPin`	pin	Input pin this link writes to.
`sourceNode`	node	Node owning the source pin.
`targetNode`	node	Node owning the target pin.
`color`	ImVec4	Link color derived from pin type (impulse/chainFlow override).
`hidden`	bool	If true, drawn as a shortcut (abbreviated) link.
`disabled`	bool	If true, link is inactive.
`label`	string	Text label for state transition links.

Flow Animation

-- Flow markers animate along the link when:
-- For flow/state pins: source pin has value AND target node was used this frame
-- For data pins: source pin was used this frame
-- Animation speed: 30 units/sec (0 when paused)
-- Marker distance: 40px (flow) or 10px (data)
-- Duration: 0.5 seconds

Construction

-- link.lua returns a constructor function:
local createLink = require('/lua/ge/extensions/flowgraph/link')
local link = createLink(graph, sourcePin, targetPin)
-- Automatically registers in graph.links and wires pinIn

Pin Wiring

-- On link creation, the target node's pinIn is wired:
rawset(self.targetNode.pinIn, targetPin.name, sourcePin)

-- For flow pins, multiple sources are tracked:
self.targetNode._mInFlow[targetPin.name] = { sourcePin1, sourcePin2, ... }

Serialization Format

-- Compact array format:
{ sourceNodeId, sourcePinName, targetNodeId, targetPinName, hidden_or_nil }

Flowgraph Link

Purpose

Class (`C`) - Key Methods

Link Properties

Flow Animation

Construction

Pin Wiring

Serialization Format

See Also

On this page

Flowgraph Link

Purpose

Class (`C`) - Key Methods

Link Properties

Flow Animation

Construction

Pin Wiring

Serialization Format

See Also

On this page