Re: [css3-transforms] Multiplication order

On 11/11/12 12:56 AM, Simon Sapin wrote:
> Le 11/11/2012 05:13, Rik Cabanier a écrit :
>> It's always left to right so:
>>
>>     accumulator = accumulator * to_matrix(function)
>
> Thanks for answering. For some reason I settled on the opposite in my code.

That's because Rik is mostly wrong.  ;)

This whole thing is bit of a mess and continues to be in spite of 
repeated requests to fix it up.  :(  See 
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-style/2011May/0633.html and 
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-style/2011Feb/0531.html for some 
previous issues that were raised...  Unfortunately, they were only 
partially addressed. 
http://dev.w3.org/csswg/css3-transforms/#mathematical-description now 
defines what matrix each transform function corresponds to, but not how 
to apply the matrix.  Note that the matrices defined in this section 
will act as expected if they are treated as matrices acting on column 
vectors by left-multiplication.

Rik is thinking of this in terms of what seems to be the usual graphics 
programming convention in which matrices act on row vectors by 
right-multiplication.  So for _him_ the multiplication puts the new 
matrix to the right of the accumulator.

If you're thinking of your matrices as acting on column vectors by 
left-multiplication, then your multiplication will need to put the new 
matrix to the left of the accumulator.

These situations are completely equivalent (because just taking the 
transpose of everything will go between the two of them).  The main 
places where confusion can arise are the definition of the 
"transformation matrix" and the actual definition of what matrices 
matrix() produces.  The latter has been dealt with, but the former has 
not as you note.

What I think we should do is define in section 21 that the matrices it 
defines act on the column vector [x,y,z,1] by left-multiplication.  And 
then we should clarify section 6 by either describing what the 
multiplication order for the matrices is is or by saying that the 
transformations are applied in order from left to right and that the 
"transformation matrix" is the matrix of the resulting transformation. 
That avoids the problem, since transformation application, while 
non-commutative, does not have the issue of "well, but _how_ do I apply 
the transformation".

>>     Similar questions arise with nested "transformed" stacking contexts

See links above.  :(

>> Is your confusion with preserver-3d or with regular 2d transforms?
>> In the case of 2d, the outer transform happens first (= to the left)

See, this is part of the problem.  The way the spec is phrased right 
now, "first" is "to the _right_".  And the fact that not everyone is on 
board with that is not helping.  :(

-Boris

Received on Sunday, 11 November 2012 16:04:15 UTC