[x3d-public] Request for X3D encoding comment output from X3DPSAIL

[Don Brutzman]

For clarity, here is a recap of key points that can be found in prior
responses and ticket issues:

   - Persistent single-line comments are an important feature for X3D model
   conversions and interoperability.
   - You are welcome to use all Python features, including multi-line
   comments, whenever programming with Python and x3d.py.
   - Individual multi-line comments are not supported in a number of file
   encodings and programming languages.  Nor are they defined by X3D
   Architecture, nor are they supported by several X3D encodings (such as XML
   and ClassicVRML).  Thus multi-line comments are not a required feature.
   - Persistent comments in x3d.py Python are already supported via a
   Comment class.
   - Persistent single-line comments are now partially supported by
   X3dToPython.xslt converter, if present as children of Scene head and
   grouping nodes.  Further future work on content-model representations in
   the Python class hierarchy may be able to add them elsewhere (e.g. inside
   Shape Appearance Material geometry etc.
   - Tickets are closed after careful review if they are unrepeatable or
   unactionable.  Suggestions and questions about a clearer ticket are usually
   included.

Hope this helps.

all the best, Don
-- 
X3D Graphics, Maritime Robotics, Distributed Simulation
Relative Motion Consulting  https://RelativeMotion.info


On Sun, Jan 4, 2026 at 5:57 AM John Carlson <yottzumm at gmail.com> wrote:

> Blowing off some steam.  Apologies, I probably should work out instead.
>
> I am unsure if it’s easier to output straight line code instead of
> hierarchical code in Python; multi-line non-persistent comments might
> become easier in straight line code.  I don’t know about comments() in
> XSLT.  In straight line code, wrapping a multi or single line comment in
> “””…””” is a cinch.  Even if newlines need to be added for the Python
> interpreter.
> AFAIK, I’ve already mentioned that straight line code is easier to debug,
> in my mind.  I think the Java large file discussion is still open; I know
> hierarchical code is more succinct, and less likely to stack overflow.  I
> think the choices between code structure in Python and Java might be
> different.
>
> Persistent multi-line comments are desirable, even if they aren’t present
> in the archive.  We will probably make different choices between
> hierarchical and straight line code when this feature is available.
>
> Short term hacks like single line comments work until features are
> introduced.  That doesn’t mean tickets should be closed prematurely, or
> examples outside the archives are invalid.
>
> John
>
> On Tue, Dec 30, 2025 at 3:42 AM John Carlson <yottzumm at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Don, thanks for your comment on this ticket that naively adding Comment
>> to a children field might not work.  That was one of my intentions on
>> expressing myself so vocally.  I apologize for using your time to do this,
>> but I think it revealed a possible design consideration.  I think if I had
>> discovered it, it would have gone over like a wet balloon.
>>
>> Thank you again, I will not put comments arbitrarily in the scenegraph
>> for now with my PythonSerializer.js, until you indicate it’s ready!   I
>> will leave them out of the scenegraph, as they are now.   Since I handle
>> comments generically, I will have to research the nodes you’ve accomplished.
>>
>> Now, can we have other multi-line comments, not in the persistent
>> scenegraph, in Python translated from .x3d, in the short term, like:
>>
>> #
>> # This is comment line 2
>> # This is comment line 3
>> #
>>
>> ?
>>
>> John
>>
>> From the ticket:
>>
>> “
>>
>> This is not an easy fix for converting files because Comment is not part
>> of the content model for all nodes. Solving this will probably require
>> extending class _ X3DNode in x3d.py and sorting out possible subclass
>> collisions. It will also be difficult to retain the original order of child
>> nodes and child comments within a parent node.
>>
>> This might be fixable someday - after some effort I got it working for
>> head, Scene, field, fieldValue.. Deferred as future work.
>>  ”
>>
>> On Mon, Dec 29, 2025 at 12:52 PM Don Brutzman <don.brutzman at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> I have posted a new ticket to capture this point.  Perhaps a useful
>>> exemplar, as well.
>>>
>>>    - X3D SourceForge ticket #82 creating persistent comments in python
>>>    when converting from XML
>>>    - https://sourceforge.net/p/x3d/tickets/82/
>>>
>>> Hope this helps.  Again thanks for your many efforts.  Have fun
>>> improving X3D!  🤔 👍
>>>
>>>>
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