Repository: playcanvas/engine (JavaScript)

Issue:
Allow entity components enabling order on hierarchy change
When working with custom components (e.g. added via code), we need some components to be enabled before others. At the moment the components are called in random order:

https://github.com/playcanvas/engine/blob/55a3ff8845f0cf30829aeec515f24ac98b6baf4d/src/framework/entity.js#L503-L520

For example, a body component and a constraint component for physics. The constraint component needs a body to be attached to. If the body component is enabled later, it will be added to the physics after the constraint, which will fail creating the constraint as it will fail to locate the body.

There is no elegant way of doing it today. We have to introduce a component dependency into another component that actually doesn't need to be aware if other components and their state. We also have to add some sort of systems to queue up the creation commands to wait for the other component to be enabled, which is pretty brittle.


Discussion: This is also the reason, why Collision Component system sometimes creates a new Trigger, which gets immediately destroyed. 

First, Collision Component is added and a Trigger is created, since no Rigidbody Component is available yet:
https://github.com/playcanvas/engine/blob/55a3ff8845f0cf30829aeec515f24ac98b6baf4d/src/framework/components/collision/system.js#L129-L138

Then, Rigidbody Component is added, which destroys the Trigger:
https://github.com/playcanvas/engine/blob/55a3ff8845f0cf30829aeec515f24ac98b6baf4d/src/framework/components/rigid-body/component.js#L518-L527



Fix (patch):
diff --git a/src/core/sort.js b/src/core/sort.js
index 062667ced3a..627891ff00e 100644
--- a/src/core/sort.js
+++ b/src/core/sort.js
@@ -6,6 +6,15 @@
  */
 const cmpPriority = (a, b) => a.priority - b.priority;
 
+
+/**
+ * @param {{order: number}} a - First object with `order` property.
+ * @param {{order: number}} b - Second object with `order` property.
+ * @returns {number} A number indicating the relative position.
+ * @ignore
+ */
+const cmpStaticOrder = (a, b) => a.constructor.order - b.constructor.order;
+
 /**
  * @param {Array<{priority: number}>} arr - Array to be sorted in place where each element contains
  * an object with at least a priority property.
@@ -13,3 +22,11 @@ const cmpPriority = (a, b) => a.priority - b.priority;
  * @ignore
  */
 export const sortPriority = arr => arr.sort(cmpPriority);
+
+/**
+ * @param {Array<{order: number}>} arr - Array to be sorted in place where each element contains
+ * an object with a static `order` property.
+ * @returns {Array<{order: number}>} In place sorted array.
+ * @ignore
+ */
+export const sortStaticOrder = arr => arr.sort(cmpStaticOrder);
diff --git a/src/framework/components/component.js b/src/framework/components/component.js
index a034fa226fc..062c4e5baef 100644
--- a/src/framework/components/component.js
+++ b/src/framework/components/component.js
@@ -5,6 +5,15 @@ import { EventHandler } from '../../core/event-handler.js';
  * events each frame, and expose properties to the PlayCanvas Editor.
  */
 class Component extends EventHandler {
+    /**
+     * Component order. When an entity with multiple components gets enabled, this order specifies
+     * in which order the components get enabled. The lowest number gets enabled first.
+     *
+     * @type {number} - Component order number.
+     * @private
+     */
+    static order = 0;
+
     /**
      * The ComponentSystem used to create this Component.
      *
diff --git a/src/framework/components/rigid-body/component.js b/src/framework/components/rigid-body/component.js
index 226cc5a5ab0..2d8d9d5798c 100644
--- a/src/framework/components/rigid-body/component.js
+++ b/src/framework/components/rigid-body/component.js
@@ -114,6 +114,8 @@ class RigidBodyComponent extends Component {
      */
     static EVENT_TRIGGERLEAVE = 'triggerleave';
 
+    static order = -1;
+
     /** @private */
     _angularDamping = 0;
 
diff --git a/src/framework/components/system.js b/src/framework/components/system.js
index 506d6803235..07679e438ed 100644
--- a/src/framework/components/system.js
+++ b/src/framework/components/system.js
@@ -67,15 +67,16 @@ class ComponentSystem extends EventHandler {
      * @ignore
      */
     removeComponent(entity) {
+        const id = this.id;
         const record = this.store[entity.getGuid()];
-        const component = entity.c[this.id];
+        const component = entity.c[id];
 
         this.fire('beforeremove', entity, component);
 
         delete this.store[entity.getGuid()];
 
-        entity[this.id] = undefined;
-        delete entity.c[this.id];
+        entity[id] = undefined;
+        delete entity.c[id];
 
         this.fire('remove', entity, record.data);
     }
diff --git a/src/framework/entity.js b/src/framework/entity.js
index de2ad5d2e5b..059b1302c3b 100644
--- a/src/framework/entity.js
+++ b/src/framework/entity.js
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { Debug } from '../core/debug.js';
 import { guid } from '../core/guid.js';
+import { sortStaticOrder } from '../core/sort.js';
 
 import { GraphNode } from '../scene/graph-node.js';
 
@@ -11,6 +12,12 @@ import { getApplication } from './globals.js';
  */
 const _enableList = [];
 
+/**
+ * @type {Array<import('./components/component.js').Component>}
+ * @ignore
+ */
+const _sortedArray = [];
+
 /**
  * The Entity is the core primitive of a PlayCanvas game. Generally speaking an object in your game
  * will consist of an {@link Entity}, and a set of {@link Component}s which are managed by their
@@ -503,17 +510,14 @@ class Entity extends GraphNode {
     _onHierarchyStateChanged(enabled) {
         super._onHierarchyStateChanged(enabled);
 
-        // enable / disable all the components
-        const components = this.c;
-        for (const type in components) {
-            if (components.hasOwnProperty(type)) {
-                const component = components[type];
-                if (component.enabled) {
-                    if (enabled) {
-                        component.onEnable();
-                    } else {
-                        component.onDisable();
-                    }
+        const components = this._getSortedComponents();
+        for (let i = 0; i < components.length; i++) {
+            const component = components[i];
+            if (component.enabled) {
+                if (enabled) {
+                    component.onEnable();
+                } else {
+                    component.onDisable();
                 }
             }
         }
@@ -522,10 +526,9 @@ class Entity extends GraphNode {
     /** @private */
     _onHierarchyStatePostChanged() {
         // post enable all the components
-        const components = this.c;
-        for (const type in components) {
-            if (components.hasOwnProperty(type))
-                components[type].onPostStateChange();
+        const components = this._getSortedComponents();
+        for (let i = 0; i < components.length; i++) {
+            components[i].onPostStateChange();
         }
     }
 
@@ -601,6 +604,26 @@ class Entity extends GraphNode {
         return clone;
     }
 
+    _getSortedComponents() {
+        _sortedArray.length = 0;
+
+        const components = this.c;
+        let needSort = 0;
+        for (const type in components) {
+            if (components.hasOwnProperty(type)) {
+                const component = components[type];
+                needSort |= component.constructor.order !== 0;
+                _sortedArray.push(component);
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (needSort && _sortedArray.length > 1) {
+            sortStaticOrder(_sortedArray);
+        }
+
+        return _sortedArray;
+    }
+
     /**
      * @param {Object<string, Entity>} duplicatedIdsMap - A map of original entity GUIDs to cloned
      * entities.