Class: System (Base Class)

Source: ecs/System.js, line 8

The System class serves as the foundational base class for all game-specific logic units within the Ironclad Engine's Entity-Component-System (ECS) architecture. Systems are responsible for iterating over entities that possess a specific set of components and applying updates or transformations to them.

Game-specific systems (e.g., MovementSystem, CollisionSystem, RenderSystem) should extend this class. They typically define a static requiredComponents array to specify which components an entity must have for the system to process it, and an update method containing the core logic that operates on these entities each frame.

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Constructor

new System()

Creates an instance of a System. The actual game engine instance (IroncladEngine) is typically injected into the system via the initialize method when the system is registered with the engine, or can be passed if the system is instantiated directly by game code that already has an engine reference.

Source: ecs/System.js, line 34

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Members

engine

Type: IroncladEngine | null

A reference to the main IroncladEngine instance. This property is usually populated by the initialize(engine) method when the system is registered, providing the system with access to other engine managers and services.

Source: ecs/System.js, line 38

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Static Members

static requiredComponents

Type: Array<string>

An array of component type names (strings) that an entity must possess for this system to be interested in processing it. Derived systems should override this static property to define their component dependencies. The IroncladEngine will use this list to automatically provide the system's update method with only the relevant entities.

Example in a derived system:

// In MyMovementSystem.js
import System from './System.js' // Adjust path as needed

class MyMovementSystem extends System {
  static requiredComponents = ['Position', 'Velocity']

  update(deltaTime, entities, engine) {
    for (const entityId of entities) {
      const position = engine.entityManager.getComponent(entityId, 'Position')
      const velocity = engine.entityManager.getComponent(entityId, 'Velocity')
      // ... apply movement logic ...
    }
  }
}