PostUpdateCommands: Create Entity with data

So the PostUpdateCommands allows you to CreateEntity(archetype) and it allows Set and AddComponentData(entity); What I was wondering is how do you handle a scenario where you want to create a new entity and a the same time you want to set some data on it, assuming that both operations would invalidate your current loop?

 

Ah, thanks. Although not very intuitive.

 

I am not StephanK so let's see if he has a proposal.

Possibly a function EntityCommandBuffer.AddComponentDataToLastCreatedEntity that calls the overload function would be more intuitive....but not required if proper documentation becomes available

My view is that it is fantastic that you share the ECS early and that there is very active participation of Unity in this forum.

What I think could be done better is

• to ensure that both ECS functionality and the related documentation are somewhat in sync and on par (my view is that documentation is currently lacking, including intended best practice use cases, take sharedcomponentdata as an example)
• to have a system that allows sharing your internal satisfaction status with current API / functionality (safe optimization). This would allow to show areas, where the community might have very different expectations and at the same time invite suggestions in areas that you yourself are still undecided about

Overall great that you shared it early...enjoyable discussions in this forum section.

 

how about

Code (CSharp):

1.  
2. public struct Foo : IComponentData {/*...*/}
3. public struct Bar : IComponentData {/*...*/}
4. // ....
5. public struct MyArchetype : IEntityArchetype {
6.     public Foo foo;
7.     public Bar bar;
8.     // ...
9. }
10.  
11. var proto = new MyArchetype {foo = {...}, bar = {...}};
12. EntityManager.CreateEntity(proto);
13. commandBuffer.CreateEntity(proto);
14. // void CreateEntity<T>(T prototype) where T : struct, IEntityArchetype {...}
15.  

you can extract the types from the struct definition (like you do on [Inject] component group on systems).
this also lets you name and have control control over which archetypes you have in the project (barring dynamically add/remove components) -- this can also be picked up by the debug window (scan assemblies for types implementing IEntityArchetype, then display that name instead (or in addition to) the list of components)

 

I would have expected something like CreateEntityWithComponents (params IComponentData[] args) but I guess that's tricky to get allocation free. To be fair, now that I know that the overload exists it kind of makes sense and it might have been no problem at all if the documentation was already there.

 

this will:
- allocate the array (if you use the params feature. you can always pass a preallocated array)
- box every IComponentData inside the array, as they are struct and IComponentData is a reference type
boxing is unavoidable. they may expose a set of overloads CreateEntityWithComponents<T1, ...,TN>(T1 arg1, ..., TN argN) but number of components is limited this way.

something that may be alloc-free is that CreateEntity returns a placeholder for the will-be-created entity, and you can SetComponentData<T>(EntityPlaceholder placeholder, T data) on that placeholder as if it's an entity.
or with a builder api:

Code (CSharp):

1.  
2. commandBuffer.BeginCreateEntity (archetype)
3.     .SetComponentData (new Foo {...})
4.     .SetComponentData (new Bar {...})
5.     .DoIt ();
6.  

 

I would prefer that syntax over the first approach you proposed.

 

I think the current commandbuffer api is good. Is pretty close to how you work with commandbuffers of other kinds elsewhere, such as rendering.