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PTX Engine

PTX Engine

Section titled “PTX Engine”

PTX Engine is the next-generation evolution of ProtoTracer - a header-first C++17 library providing a compact math, geometry, and rendering core designed to run on both microcontrollers and desktop platforms.

View PTX Engine on GitHub

Key Improvements Over ProtoTracer

Section titled “Key Improvements Over ProtoTracer”
FeatureProtoTracerPTX Engine
Language StandardC++11C++17
Desktop SupportNoYes
Header-FirstNoYes
Runtime ReflectionNoYes
Python BindingsNoYes (ctypes)
8-bit AVR SupportNoYes

Supported Platforms

Section titled “Supported Platforms”

PTX Engine is designed for cross-platform development:

Microcontrollers

Section titled “Microcontrollers”
  • 32-bit Cortex-M (STM32, Teensy)
  • ESP32 (ESP32-S3)
  • 8-bit AVR (Arduino UNO, Nano)

Desktop

Section titled “Desktop”
  • Linux
  • Windows

Key Features

Section titled “Key Features”

Header-First Design

Section titled “Header-First Design”

The entire library is usable as header files, making it easy to integrate into any project without complex build configurations.

Runtime Reflection System

Section titled “Runtime Reflection System”

PTX Engine includes a reflection system for runtime discovery and invocation of types and members. This enables:

  • Dynamic type introspection
  • Runtime method invocation
  • Automated serialization
  • Binding generation

Python Integration

Section titled “Python Integration”

A ctypes-based Python wrapper allows you to:

  • Explore reflection metadata
  • Test engine functionality from Python
  • Rapid prototyping without recompiling

Building the Reflect Library

Section titled “Building the Reflect Library”

The reflection system compiles into a shared library:

Terminal window
# From repository root
platformio run --environment nativereflectlib

The produced shared library will be at:

.pio/build/nativereflectlib/ptx_reflect.so

Using the Python Wrapper

Section titled “Using the Python Wrapper”
Terminal window
cd lib/ptx_python
PYTHONPATH=../../src python3 reflection_demo.py --lib ../../.pio/build/nativereflectlib/ptx_reflect.so

Or set the environment variable:

Terminal window
export PTX_C_API_LIB=/full/path/to/ptx_reflect.so
PYTHONPATH=../../src python3 reflection_demo.py

Current Development Focus

Section titled “Current Development Focus”

The project is actively being developed with recent work focusing on:

  1. Runtime Reflection System - Generator and build scripts for automatic registration
  2. C ABI Layer - Stable interface for language bindings
  3. Python Wrapper - ctypes-based exploration of reflection metadata

Project Structure

Section titled “Project Structure”
DirectoryPurpose
engine/Core engine code
bindings/Language bindings
scripts/Build and generation scripts
tests/Unit tests
src/Main source and entry points

Developer Notes

Section titled “Developer Notes”

Regenerating Reflection Registry

Section titled “Regenerating Reflection Registry”
Terminal window
cmake --build build --target ptx_update_registry

This regenerates:

  • Umbrella header (generated/ptx/ptxall.hpp)
  • PTX registry cache

Static Utility Pattern

Section titled “Static Utility Pattern”

Static utility namespaces (e.g., ptx::Console, ptx::Random, ptx::Time) expose a nested Reflection struct that forwards to their static functions. Follow this pattern for other static-only modules that need runtime access.

Contributing

Section titled “Contributing”

See CONTRIBUTING.md in the repository for:

  • Coding style guidelines
  • Platform-specific guidance
  • Pull request process

License

Section titled “License”

PTX Engine is released under the AGPL-3.0 license.

Section titled “Related”