Architecture Overview

ECS (Entity Component System) is a design pattern widely used in game development and complex application design, characterized by its flexibility, efficiency, and scalability. EliCS is an implementation of this pattern, offering a streamlined approach to managing entities, components, systems, and queries.

Core Concepts

Entities

Entities are fundamental objects or actors within your application. They are essentially containers for components and do not possess any direct functionality or data.

Components

Components are pure data containers that define the properties or behaviors of entities. They are modular and can be dynamically attached to or detached from entities.

Systems

Systems contain the logic of your application. They operate on entities that have specific component configurations, defined through queries.

Queries

Queries are used by systems to efficiently select entities based on their components. EliCS utilizes a bitmasking technique for fast query evaluation.

World

The World is the central orchestrator in EliCS. It manages the lifecycle and interaction of entities, components, systems, and queries.

Workflow

1. Component Creation: Define the various component types that represent the data needed in your application.

   • Example: Position, Velocity, Health, etc.

2. Entity Construction: Create entities and attach components to them, thereby defining their characteristics and capabilities.

3. System Development: Implement systems that process entities. These systems use queries to select entities based on their component composition.

4. World Integration: Register components, entities, and systems with the World. The World coordinates the execution and interaction of all these elements.

5. Execution Cycle: The World updates all systems in each frame or tick of your application's main loop. Systems then process their relevant entities.

Key Advantages

• Decoupling: Separation of data (components) from logic (systems) facilitates a modular and scalable architecture.
• Efficiency: Bitmasking in queries and the pooling mechanism in entities and components ensure high performance, especially in scenarios with numerous entities and frequent changes.
• Flexibility: The dynamic nature of entities and components allows for runtime changes, suitable for complex and evolving application states.

Conclusion

EliCS's approach to the ECS pattern streamlines the development of complex applications, providing a robust framework for efficiently managing entities, components, systems, and their interactions. This architecture not only enhances performance but also offers the flexibility needed in dynamic application environments.