TSL Docs

ReferenceBaseNode

Last modified: Mar 5, 2026

Base class for nodes which establishes a reference to a property of another object. In this way, the value of the node is automatically linked to the value of referenced object. Reference nodes internally represent the linked value as a uniform.

Constructor

new ReferenceBaseNode(property, uniformType, object?, count?)

Parameter	Type	Default Value
property	`string`	—
uniformType	`string`	—
object?	`null \| Object`	`null`
count?	`null \| number`	`null`

Constructs a new reference base node.

Accessor	Type
get type	`string`
Modifiers `static`

Properties

Property	Type
property	`string`	—
uniformType	`string`	—
object	`null \| Object`	—
count	`null \| number`	—
properties	`Array<string>`	—
reference	`null \| Object`	—
node	`UniformNode`	—
group	`UniformGroupNode`	—

Method Type

setGroup (group: UniformGroupNode) => ReferenceBaseNode

Sets the uniform group for this reference node.

Parameter	Type	Default Value
group	`UniformGroupNode`	—

Returns

ReferenceBaseNode

element (indexNode: IndexNode) => ReferenceElementNode

When the referred property is array-like, this method can be used to access elements via an index node.

Parameter	Type	Default Value
indexNode	`IndexNode`	—

Returns

ReferenceElementNode

setNodeType (uniformType: string) => void

Sets the node type which automatically defines the internal uniform type.

Parameter	Type	Default Value
uniformType	`string`	—

Returns

void

generateNodeType (builder: NodeBuilder) => string

This method is overwritten since the node type is inferred from the type of the reference node.

Parameter	Type	Default Value
builder	`NodeBuilder`	—

Returns

string

getValueFromReference (object?: Object) => any

Returns the property value from the given referred object.

Parameter	Type	Default Value
object?	`Object`	`this.reference`

Returns

any

updateReference (state: any) => Object

Allows to update the reference based on the given state. The state is only evaluated ReferenceBaseNode#object is not set.

Parameter	Type	Default Value
state	`any`	—

Returns

Object

setup () => UniformNode

The output of the reference node is the internal uniform node.

Returns

UniformNode

update () => void

Overwritten to update the internal uniform value.

Returns

void

updateValue () => void

Retrieves the value from the referred object property and uses it to updated the internal uniform.

Returns

void

Extends

Node

reference

TSL function for creating a reference base node.

Parameter	Type	Default Value
name	`string`	—
type	`string`	—
object	`Object`	—

Returns

ReferenceBaseNode

referenceBuffer

TSL function for creating a reference base node. Use this function if you want need a reference to an array-like property that should be represented as a uniform buffer.

Parameter	Type	Default Value
name	`string`	—
type	`string`	—
count	`number`	—
object?	`Object`	—

Returns

ReferenceBaseNode