Procedural vs data flow

Top connectors accept the sum of all inputs of a component. They represent the overall input into a component.

Bottom connectors receive the sum of all outputs of a component. They represent the overall output from a component.

Linking a top connector to a bottom connector creates a sequence between two components- this is known as procedural flow. The workflow constructed in the section Writing a simple workflow is an example of procedural flow.

In programs such as Vulcan and PointStudio, you can have panels with multiple inputs and outputs. These inputs and outputs could be of various types (e.g. boolean, double, character). In such a scenario, we connect input (left) and output (right) connectors individually which have the same type.

The situation we have described here is called data flow, where you can explicitly view how your data is transformed. In the example below, a scan is provided as an input to a component, which is filtered and then converted into a surface. Note that the output of data from the Range component has the same type of input to the Topography component. For more information go the How connectors work section.

Next topic: Getting Started - Building on Key Concepts - How connectors work