.. glossary::
async
Common abbreviation of :term:`asynchronous`.
asynchronous
Term for an operation that is running in the background, as opposed to
blocking the flow of the code until it is completed.
bam
Binary :term:`model` format native to Panda3D, containing a direct
representation of the memory structure of a Panda3D scene graph, making
this format quick to load and ideal for caching and distribution.
coroutine
A function that can be suspended and resumed at a later point.
See :ref:`coroutines`.
egg
A :term:`model` file format native to Panda3D which is text-based, meaning
it can be opened and inspected using a text editor. See :ref:`egg-files`.
future
A special handle that represents an :term:`asynchronous` operation that
will complete at some point in the future. Sometimes called a "promise" in
other programming languages. Implemented in Panda3D via
:class:`.AsyncFuture`.
glb
A binary form of the :ref:`glTF file format <gltf-files>`.
glTF
A standard :term:`model` and scene file format. See :ref:`gltf-files`.
instancing
The practice of showing a particular 3D model multiple times without
duplicating the model in memory, see :ref:`instancing`.
interrogate
A tool included with Panda3D that is used to generate Python bindings for
C++ code. It is used to make the C++ classes and functions of Panda3D
accessible to Python code. See :ref:`interrogate`.
interval
A predetermined animation between two states of a particular property
(usually two positions or rotations of a model), see :ref:`intervals`.
Multiple intervals can be combined together into compound intervals using
:ref:`sequences-and-parallels`.
material
A description of how 3D geometry should visually appear in the presence of
a light source. See :ref:`materials`.
model
A model is a tree of nodes, usually loaded from a file on disk, containing
a collection of pieces of geometry and a description of the materials used
to render them.
node
A particular element in the Panda3D :term:`scene graph`, represented by a
:class:`.PandaNode` object (or a sub-class thereof).
node path
A path describing how to reach a particular :term:`node` from the root of
the :term:`scene graph`. In the presence of :ref:`instancing`, there can
be different paths referring to the same node. Represented in Panda3D by
the :class:`.NodePath` class.
parallel
A type of :term:`interval` that executes two or more other intervals at
the same time, see :ref:`sequences-and-parallels`.
PBR
Physically-based rendering, a method of defining materials that more
accurately models the reflection of light on objects, enabling more
physically accurate rendering results.
physics
A system that calculates how objects should move when acted upon by forces
and collisions with other objects. See :ref:`physics`. Note that this is
separate from the system that *detects* whether two objects collide.
For that, see :ref:`collision-detection`.
pstats
PStats is a tool shipped with Panda3D that is used to display and analyze
the performance of a Panda3D program.
See :ref:`measuring-performance-with-pstats`.
pview
Model viewer utility that ships with the Panda3D installation, see
:ref:`pview`.
pzip
Refers to the .pz compression format, or the tool used to produce it.
render
The default :class:`.NodePath` created to hold the 3D :term:`scene graph`.
scene graph
This can be any tree of :term:`nodes <node>` connected together via
parent-child relationships, but usually refers to the entire collection of
nodes that make up a 3D scene. See :ref:`the-scene-graph`.
sequence
A type of :term:`interval` that executes two or more other intervals in
succession (ie. the next one starts after the previous one is finished).
See :ref:`sequences-and-parallels`.
texture
An image that is displayed on a :term:`model` in some manner, see
:ref:`texturing`.