| Developer(s) | http://sourceforge.net/projects/pal |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Type | Middleware |
| License | Three clause BSD license |
| Website | pal.sourceforge.net |
The Physics Abstraction Layer (PAL) is an open source cross-platform physical simulation API abstraction system. It is similar to a physics engine wrapper, however it is far more flexible providing extended abilities. PAL is free software, released under the BSD license.
PAL is a high-level interface for low-level physics engines used in games, simulation systems, and other 3D applications. It supports a number of dynamic simulation methodologies, including rigid body, liquids, soft body, ragdoll and vehicle dynamics. PAL features a simple C++ API, intuitive objects (e.g. Solids, Joints, Actuators, Sensors, Materials), and COLLADA, Scythe Physics Editor and XML-based file storage.
The Physics Abstraction Layer provides a number of benefits over directly using a physics engine:
PAL is designed with a pluggable abstract factory allowing code to be written and compiled once and allowing runtime selection of different physics engines, as well as feature upgrades.
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PAL supports multiple physics engines, including:
PAL supports multiple file formats, including:
The PAL project provides a set of standard benchmarks allowing developers to directly compare the physics engines and select the engine that provides the best solution in terms of computational efficiency and physical accuracy. Care should be taken when deciding on which engine to actually use though, since engines may be tweaked in ways which PAL doesn't support.