Orbital Aero Model: Vector Model

** Update 21 Jan 2017: This Vector class has been deprecated, new version posted here. **

I created a Vector class that is used extensively in the code. Absolute locations, relative locations, velocities, accelerations, and forces all use this same class to hold values in 3 dimensional space. My vector is a simple 1 dimensional array of 3 values. Using an array makes things easier when dealing with matrix math (which will be introduced later). Also keeping it generic means those values could be considered an x/y/z or phi/theta/psi (orientation).

Operator Overloading

Operator overloading allows the programmer to use standard math operators on structures or classes that the compiler would normally not know what to do with. I use them extensively with vectors in the Orbital Aero Model; it helps to both condense the code and make it more readable.

For example, I'm trying to add vectors b and c together to store them in a.

Instead of writing code such as:
a.x = b.x + c.x;
a.y = b.y + c.y;
a.z = b.z + c.z;

I could write:
a = b + c;

The overload for that case would be:

Vector Vector::operator+(const Vector &vectorToAdd)
{
return Vector(this->value[0] + vectorToAdd.value[0], this->value[1] + vectorToAdd.value[1], this->value[2] + vectorToAdd.value[2]);
}

The addition operation is being performed on vector b (this) and vector c (vectorToAdd). It is returning a new vector of the sum that is stored in a.

A similar example is to add the value of b into a.

Instead of writing code such as:

a.x += b.x;

a.y += b.y;

a.z += b.z;

I could write:

a += b;

The overload for that case would be:

Vector &Vector::operator+=(const Vector &vectorToAdd)

{
this->value[0] += vectorToAdd.value[0];
this->value[1] += vectorToAdd.value[1];
this->value[2] += vectorToAdd.value[2];
return *this;
}

The addition operation is being performed on vector a (this) and vector b (vectorToAdd). The summed value is stored directly in a.

Since so much of the code uses my vector class that has operator overloading, I figured it would be best to share that class first. As I extend the functionality of my vector math, I'll update this post to include the latest additions.

More Resources

For more information on vector math, I recommend learning the following concepts:
Vector
Dot Product
Cross Product

If you've never seen a Dot Product or Cross Product before, you may be questioning what they're for. They're actually both VERY important concepts when doing 3-dimensional math. You'll see examples of them in action in the code that follows.

VectorModel.h

#pragma once

class Vector
{
private:

public:
double value[3];

Vector();

Vector(double value0, double value1, double value2);

Vector &Vector::operator=(double newValue);

Vector &Vector::operator=(const Vector &thatVector);

Vector Vector::operator-();

Vector Vector::operator+(const Vector &vectorToAdd);

Vector Vector::operator-(const Vector &vectorToSubtract);

Vector Vector::operator*(double valueToMultiply);

Vector Vector::operator*(const Vector &vectorToMultiply);

Vector Vector::operator/(double valueToDivide);

Vector &Vector::operator+=(const Vector &vectorToAdd);

Vector &Vector::operator-=(const Vector &vectorToSubtract);

Vector &Vector::operator*=(double valueToMultiply);

Vector &Vector::operator/=(double valueToDivide);

double magnitude();

Vector unit();

Vector sign();

static double dotProduct(Vector vector1, Vector vector2);
};

VectorModel.c

#include "math.h"
#include "VectorModel.h"

Vector::Vector()
{
this->value[0] = 0.0;
this->value[1] = 0.0;
this->value[2] = 0.0;
return;
}

Vector::Vector(double value0, double value1, double value2)
{
this->value[0] = value0;
this->value[1] = value1;
this->value[2] = value2;
return;
}

Vector &Vector::operator=(double newValue)
{
this->value[0] = newValue;
this->value[1] = newValue;
this->value[2] = newValue;
return *this;
}

Vector &Vector::operator=(const Vector &thatVector)
{
// Protect against self-assignment. (Otherwise bad things happen when it's reading from memory it has cleared.)
if (this != &thatVector)
{
this->value[0] = thatVector.value[0];
this->value[1] = thatVector.value[1];
this->value[2] = thatVector.value[2];
}
return *this;
}

Vector Vector::operator-()
{
return Vector(-this->value[0], -this->value[1], -this->value[2]);
}

Vector Vector::operator+(const Vector &vectorToAdd)
{
return Vector(this->value[0] + vectorToAdd.value[0], this->value[1] + vectorToAdd.value[1], this->value[2] + vectorToAdd.value[2]);
}

Vector Vector::operator-(const Vector &vectorToSubtract)
{
return Vector(this->value[0] - vectorToSubtract.value[0], this->value[1] - vectorToSubtract.value[1], this->value[2] - vectorToSubtract.value[2]);
}

Vector Vector::operator*(double valueToMultiply)
{
return Vector(this->value[0] * valueToMultiply, this->value[1] * valueToMultiply, this->value[2] * valueToMultiply);
}

Vector Vector::operator*(const Vector &vectorToMultiply)
{
return Vector(this->value[0] * vectorToMultiply.value[0], this->value[1] * vectorToMultiply.value[1], this->value[2] * vectorToMultiply.value[2]);
}

Vector Vector::operator/(double valueToDivide)
{
return Vector(this->value[0] / valueToDivide, this->value[1] / valueToDivide, this->value[2] / valueToDivide);
}

Vector &Vector::operator+=(const Vector &vectorToAdd)
{
this->value[0] += vectorToAdd.value[0];
this->value[1] += vectorToAdd.value[1];
this->value[2] += vectorToAdd.value[2];
return *this;
}

Vector &Vector::operator-=(const Vector &vectorToSubtract)
{
this->value[0] -= vectorToSubtract.value[0];
this->value[1] -= vectorToSubtract.value[1];
this->value[2] -= vectorToSubtract.value[2];
return *this;
}

Vector &Vector::operator*=(double valueToMultiply)
{
this->value[0] *= valueToMultiply;
this->value[1] *= valueToMultiply;
this->value[2] *= valueToMultiply;
return *this;
}

Vector &Vector::operator/=(double valueToDivide)
{
this->value[0] /= valueToDivide;
this->value[1] /= valueToDivide;
this->value[2] /= valueToDivide;
return *this;
}

double Vector::magnitude()
{
return sqrt( (this->value[0] * this->value[0]) + (this->value[1] * this->value[1]) + (this->value[2] * this->value[2]) );
}

Vector Vector::unit()
{
double mag = magnitude();
Vector unitVector;
unitVector.value[0] = this->value[0] / mag;
unitVector.value[1] = this->value[1] / mag;
unitVector.value[2] = this->value[2] / mag;
return unitVector;
}

Vector Vector::sign()
{
Vector signVector;
signVector.value[0] = sgn(this->value[0]);
signVector.value[1] = sgn(this->value[1]);
signVector.value[2] = sgn(this->value[2]);
return signVector;
}

double Vector::dotProduct(Vector vector1, Vector vector2)
{
return ((vector1.value[0] * vector2.value[0]) + (vector1.value[1] * vector2.value[1]) + (vector1.value[2] * vector2.value[2]));
}

Copyright (c) 2015 Clinton Kam
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