Task 761: .V4P File Format
Task 761: .V4P File Format
The .V4P file format is an XML-based specification used by the vvvv beta visual programming environment to store patch configurations, including nodes, pins, connections, and layout information. The format is text-based and human-readable, with no binary headers or encoding beyond standard XML.
The properties of the .V4P file format intrinsic to its structure (as part of the file system representation) include the following XML elements and their associated attributes, which define the patch's components and relationships:
- PATCH (root element): Attributes include
nodename(name of the patch),filename(path to associated files, if any),scrollxandscrolly(scroll position),version(vvvv version compatibility). - NODE: Represents individual nodes in the patch. Attributes include
id(unique identifier),systemname(node type or name),nodename(display name),componentmode(e.g., "Hidden" or "InAWindow"),filename(path to external node definition),hiddenwhenlocked(visibility flag). - PIN: Defines inputs or outputs for nodes. Attributes include
pinname(pin name),visible(visibility flag),values(default or current values),slicecount(number of slices for data),pintype(data type, e.g., "Value"),subtype(specific type, e.g., "Real"),direction(input or output). - BOUNDS: Specifies positions and sizes. Attributes include
type(e.g., "Node", "Box", "Window"),left,top,width,height(coordinates and dimensions in pixels). - LINK: Represents connections between pins. Attributes include
srcnodeid(source node ID),srcpinname(source pin name),dstnodeid(destination node ID),dstpinname(destination pin name),hiddenwhenlocked(visibility flag). - WINDOWBOUNDS: Defines the window layout for the patch. Attributes include
left,top,width,height(window position and size).
These properties collectively describe the visual and functional structure of the vvvv patch.
Two direct download links for .V4P files:
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vvvv/vvvv-tutorials/master/Tutorial1.v4p
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vvvv/vvvv-tutorials/master/Tutorial2.v4p
The following is an embedded HTML/JavaScript code snippet suitable for a Ghost blog post (or similar platform). It allows users to drag and drop a .V4P file, parses the XML, and displays the extracted properties on the screen.
Drag and drop a .V4P file here
- The following is a Python class for handling .V4P files. It uses the built-in
xml.etree.ElementTreemodule to parse, read, modify (write), and print the properties.
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
class V4PHandler:
def __init__(self, filepath):
self.filepath = filepath
self.tree = None
self.root = None
self.load()
def load(self):
self.tree = ET.parse(self.filepath)
self.root = self.tree.getroot()
def print_properties(self):
if self.root.tag != 'PATCH':
print("Invalid .V4P file: Root is not PATCH")
return
print("PATCH Properties:")
for attr, value in self.root.attrib.items():
print(f" {attr}: {value}")
print("\nNODE Properties:")
for node in self.root.findall('NODE'):
print(" Node:")
for attr, value in node.attrib.items():
print(f" {attr}: {value}")
print("\nPIN Properties:")
for pin in self.root.findall('.//PIN'):
print(" Pin:")
for attr, value in pin.attrib.items():
print(f" {attr}: {value}")
print("\nBOUNDS Properties:")
for bound in self.root.findall('.//BOUNDS'):
print(" Bounds:")
for attr, value in bound.attrib.items():
print(f" {attr}: {value}")
print("\nLINK Properties:")
for link in self.root.findall('LINK'):
print(" Link:")
for attr, value in link.attrib.items():
print(f" {attr}: {value}")
print("\nWINDOWBOUNDS Properties:")
for wb in self.root.findall('WINDOWBOUNDS'):
print(" WindowBounds:")
for attr, value in wb.attrib.items():
print(f" {attr}: {value}")
def write(self, new_filepath=None):
if new_filepath is None:
new_filepath = self.filepath
self.tree.write(new_filepath, encoding='utf-8', xml_declaration=True)
# Example usage:
# handler = V4PHandler('example.v4p')
# handler.print_properties()
# handler.write('modified.v4p')
- The following is a Java class for handling .V4P files. It uses
javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilderto parse, read, modify (write), and print the properties.
import org.w3c.dom.Document;
import org.w3c.dom.Element;
import org.w3c.dom.NodeList;
import javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilder;
import javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilderFactory;
import javax.xml.transform.Transformer;
import javax.xml.transform.TransformerFactory;
import javax.xml.transform.dom.DOMSource;
import javax.xml.transform.stream.StreamResult;
import java.io.File;
public class V4PHandler {
private String filepath;
private Document doc;
public V4PHandler(String filepath) {
this.filepath = filepath;
load();
}
private void load() {
try {
DocumentBuilderFactory factory = DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance();
DocumentBuilder builder = factory.newDocumentBuilder();
doc = builder.parse(filepath);
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
public void printProperties() {
if (!doc.getDocumentElement().getTagName().equals("PATCH")) {
System.out.println("Invalid .V4P file: Root is not PATCH");
return;
}
System.out.println("PATCH Properties:");
Element root = doc.getDocumentElement();
for (int i = 0; i < root.getAttributes().getLength(); i++) {
System.out.println(" " + root.getAttributes().item(i));
}
System.out.println("\nNODE Properties:");
NodeList nodes = doc.getElementsByTagName("NODE");
for (int i = 0; i < nodes.getLength(); i++) {
System.out.println(" Node:");
Element node = (Element) nodes.item(i);
for (int j = 0; j < node.getAttributes().getLength(); j++) {
System.out.println(" " + node.getAttributes().item(j));
}
}
System.out.println("\nPIN Properties:");
NodeList pins = doc.getElementsByTagName("PIN");
for (int i = 0; i < pins.getLength(); i++) {
System.out.println(" Pin:");
Element pin = (Element) pins.item(i);
for (int j = 0; j < pin.getAttributes().getLength(); j++) {
System.out.println(" " + pin.getAttributes().item(j));
}
}
System.out.println("\nBOUNDS Properties:");
NodeList bounds = doc.getElementsByTagName("BOUNDS");
for (int i = 0; i < bounds.getLength(); i++) {
System.out.println(" Bounds:");
Element bound = (Element) bounds.item(i);
for (int j = 0; j < bound.getAttributes().getLength(); j++) {
System.out.println(" " + bound.getAttributes().item(j));
}
}
System.out.println("\nLINK Properties:");
NodeList links = doc.getElementsByTagName("LINK");
for (int i = 0; i < links.getLength(); i++) {
System.out.println(" Link:");
Element link = (Element) links.item(i);
for (int j = 0; j < link.getAttributes().getLength(); j++) {
System.out.println(" " + link.getAttributes().item(j));
}
}
System.out.println("\nWINDOWBOUNDS Properties:");
NodeList wbs = doc.getElementsByTagName("WINDOWBOUNDS");
for (int i = 0; i < wbs.getLength(); i++) {
System.out.println(" WindowBounds:");
Element wb = (Element) wbs.item(i);
for (int j = 0; j < wb.getAttributes().getLength(); j++) {
System.out.println(" " + wb.getAttributes().item(j));
}
}
}
public void write(String newFilepath) {
try {
TransformerFactory transformerFactory = TransformerFactory.newInstance();
Transformer transformer = transformerFactory.newTransformer();
DOMSource source = new DOMSource(doc);
StreamResult result = new StreamResult(new File(newFilepath));
transformer.transform(source, result);
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
// Example usage:
// public static void main(String[] args) {
// V4PHandler handler = new V4PHandler("example.v4p");
// handler.printProperties();
// handler.write("modified.v4p");
// }
}
- The following is a JavaScript class for handling .V4P files. It uses
DOMParserto parse, read, modify (write as string), and print the properties to console.
class V4PHandler {
constructor(filepath) {
this.filepath = filepath;
this.xml = null;
this.doc = null;
this.load();
}
load() {
// Note: In browser, use fetch or XMLHttpRequest to load file.
// For demonstration, assume xml string is provided or use Node.js fs.
// Here, assuming Node.js with fs for console use.
const fs = require('fs');
this.xml = fs.readFileSync(this.filepath, 'utf8');
const parser = new DOMParser();
this.doc = parser.parseFromString(this.xml, 'application/xml');
}
printProperties() {
if (this.doc.documentElement.tagName !== 'PATCH') {
console.log('Invalid .V4P file: Root is not PATCH');
return;
}
console.log('PATCH Properties:');
Array.from(this.doc.documentElement.attributes).forEach(attr => {
console.log(` ${attr.name}: ${attr.value}`);
});
console.log('\nNODE Properties:');
const nodes = this.doc.getElementsByTagName('NODE');
Array.from(nodes).forEach((node, index) => {
console.log(` Node ${index + 1}:`);
Array.from(node.attributes).forEach(attr => {
console.log(` ${attr.name}: ${attr.value}`);
});
});
console.log('\nPIN Properties:');
const pins = this.doc.getElementsByTagName('PIN');
Array.from(pins).forEach((pin, index) => {
console.log(` Pin ${index + 1}:`);
Array.from(pin.attributes).forEach(attr => {
console.log(` ${attr.name}: ${attr.value}`);
});
});
console.log('\nBOUNDS Properties:');
const bounds = this.doc.getElementsByTagName('BOUNDS');
Array.from(bounds).forEach((bound, index) => {
console.log(` Bounds ${index + 1}:`);
Array.from(bound.attributes).forEach(attr => {
console.log(` ${attr.name}: ${attr.value}`);
});
});
console.log('\nLINK Properties:');
const links = this.doc.getElementsByTagName('LINK');
Array.from(links).forEach((link, index) => {
console.log(` Link ${index + 1}:`);
Array.from(link.attributes).forEach(attr => {
console.log(` ${attr.name}: ${attr.value}`);
});
});
console.log('\nWINDOWBOUNDS Properties:');
const wbs = this.doc.getElementsByTagName('WINDOWBOUNDS');
Array.from(wbs).forEach((wb, index) => {
console.log(` WindowBounds ${index + 1}:`);
Array.from(wb.attributes).forEach(attr => {
console.log(` ${attr.name}: ${attr.value}`);
});
});
}
write(newFilepath) {
const serializer = new XMLSerializer();
const newXml = serializer.serializeToString(this.doc);
const fs = require('fs');
fs.writeFileSync(newFilepath, newXml, 'utf8');
}
}
// Example usage (in Node.js):
// const handler = new V4PHandler('example.v4p');
// handler.printProperties();
// handler.write('modified.v4p');
- The following is a C++ class for handling .V4P files. It uses the TinyXML-2 library (assume included) to parse, read, modify (write), and print the properties to console.
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include "tinyxml2.h" // Assume TinyXML-2 is included
using namespace tinyxml2;
class V4PHandler {
private:
std::string filepath;
XMLDocument doc;
public:
V4PHandler(const std::string& filepath) : filepath(filepath) {
load();
}
void load() {
doc.LoadFile(filepath.c_str());
}
void printProperties() {
XMLElement* root = doc.FirstChildElement("PATCH");
if (!root) {
std::cout << "Invalid .V4P file: Root is not PATCH" << std::endl;
return;
}
std::cout << "PATCH Properties:" << std::endl;
for (const XMLAttribute* attr = root->FirstAttribute(); attr; attr = attr->Next()) {
std::cout << " " << attr->Name() << ": " << attr->Value() << std::endl;
}
std::cout << "\nNODE Properties:" << std::endl;
XMLElement* node = root->FirstChildElement("NODE");
int nodeCount = 1;
while (node) {
std::cout << " Node " << nodeCount++ << ":" << std::endl;
for (const XMLAttribute* attr = node->FirstAttribute(); attr; attr = attr->Next()) {
std::cout << " " << attr->Name() << ": " << attr->Value() << std::endl;
}
node = node->NextSiblingElement("NODE");
}
std::cout << "\nPIN Properties:" << std::endl;
XMLElement* pin = doc.FirstChildElement()->FirstChildElement("PIN");
int pinCount = 1;
while (pin) {
std::cout << " Pin " << pinCount++ << ":" << std::endl;
for (const XMLAttribute* attr = pin->FirstAttribute(); attr; attr = attr->Next()) {
std::cout << " " << attr->Name() << ": " << attr->Value() << std::endl;
}
pin = pin->NextSiblingElement("PIN");
}
std::cout << "\nBOUNDS Properties:" << std::endl;
XMLElement* bound = doc.FirstChildElement()->FirstChildElement("BOUNDS");
int boundCount = 1;
while (bound) {
std::cout << " Bounds " << boundCount++ << ":" << std::endl;
for (const XMLAttribute* attr = bound->FirstAttribute(); attr; attr = attr->Next()) {
std::cout << " " << attr->Name() << ": " << attr->Value() << std::endl;
}
bound = bound->NextSiblingElement("BOUNDS");
}
std::cout << "\nLINK Properties:" << std::endl;
XMLElement* link = root->FirstChildElement("LINK");
int linkCount = 1;
while (link) {
std::cout << " Link " << linkCount++ << ":" << std::endl;
for (const XMLAttribute* attr = link->FirstAttribute(); attr; attr = attr->Next()) {
std::cout << " " << attr->Name() << ": " << attr->Value() << std::endl;
}
link = link->NextSiblingElement("LINK");
}
std::cout << "\nWINDOWBOUNDS Properties:" << std::endl;
XMLElement* wb = root->FirstChildElement("WINDOWBOUNDS");
int wbCount = 1;
while (wb) {
std::cout << " WindowBounds " << wbCount++ << ":" << std::endl;
for (const XMLAttribute* attr = wb->FirstAttribute(); attr; attr = attr->Next()) {
std::cout << " " << attr->Name() << ": " << attr->Value() << std::endl;
}
wb = wb->NextSiblingElement("WINDOWBOUNDS");
}
}
void write(const std::string& newFilepath) {
doc.SaveFile(newFilepath.c_str());
}
};
// Example usage:
// int main() {
// V4PHandler handler("example.v4p");
// handler.printProperties();
// handler.write("modified.v4p");
// return 0;
// }