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Documentation Index

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WorldWind is the central singleton that bootstraps and manages every global service in the NASA WorldWind Java SDK. It is a final class with a private constructor — you never instantiate it directly. Instead, all services are accessed through its static methods. On first class-load the singleton initialises its retrieval services, task service, data file store, memory cache set, network status, and session cache from the active Configuration. Calling WorldWind.shutDown() tears down every service cleanly and then rebuilds the singleton in its initial empty state, making it safe to call multiple times over the lifetime of a long-running application. Package: gov.nasa.worldwind Class: public final class WorldWind

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Constants

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Altitude Modes

Altitude modes control how a shape’s elevation value is interpreted relative to the globe surface. Pass these integer constants to any WorldWind geometry that accepts an altitude-mode parameter.
ConstantValueDescription
WorldWind.ABSOLUTE0Elevation is measured in metres above the WGS84 ellipsoid, regardless of terrain.
WorldWind.CLAMP_TO_GROUND1Shape is clamped to the terrain surface; the elevation value is ignored.
WorldWind.RELATIVE_TO_GROUND2Elevation is measured in metres above the terrain surface at the shape’s position.
WorldWind.CONSTANT3Elevation is held constant; the shape follows neither the ellipsoid nor the terrain.
Using altitude modes
Path path = new Path(positions);
path.setAltitudeMode(WorldWind.RELATIVE_TO_GROUND);

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Path Types

Path types determine how a line or path is interpolated between two geographic positions. Prefer the AVKey string equivalents in new code — these integer constants are retained for compatibility with Polyline.
ConstantValueDescription
WorldWind.GREAT_CIRCLE0Shortest-arc path on the sphere (great-circle arc).
WorldWind.LINEAR1Straight line in Cartesian space (appears curved on screen).
WorldWind.RHUMB_LINE2Constant-bearing (loxodromic) path on the ellipsoid.

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Anti-alias Hints

These constants map directly to the JOGL/OpenGL quality hints and are used where WorldWind exposes anti-aliasing quality control.
ConstantGL EquivalentDescription
WorldWind.ANTIALIAS_DONT_CAREGL.GL_DONT_CARENo preference; the driver chooses.
WorldWind.ANTIALIAS_FASTESTGL.GL_FASTESTPrefer performance over quality.
WorldWind.ANTIALIAS_NICESTGL.GL_NICESTPrefer quality over performance.

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Shutdown Event

SHUTDOWN_EVENT constant
public static final String SHUTDOWN_EVENT = "gov.nasa.worldwind.ShutDown";
SHUTDOWN_EVENT is the PropertyChangeEvent property name fired on all registered listeners immediately before WorldWind tears down its services during shutDown(). Register a listener via WorldWind.addPropertyChangeListener(WorldWind.SHUTDOWN_EVENT, listener) to receive advance notification of a pending shutdown, for example to cleanly release application-level GPU resources.

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Static Methods

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Data File Store

getDataFileStore
public static FileStore getDataFileStore()
Returns the SDK-wide FileStore used to read and write cached data files (terrain tiles, imagery, etc.) on the local file system. The concrete implementation is determined at startup by the AVKey.DATA_FILE_STORE_CLASS_NAME configuration key. Returns: FileStore — the singleton data file store; never null after initialization.

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Retrieval Services

getRetrievalService / getLocalRetrievalService
public static RetrievalService getRetrievalService()
public static RetrievalService getRemoteRetrievalService()
public static RetrievalService getLocalRetrievalService()
getRetrievalService() and getRemoteRetrievalService() both return the remote RetrievalService responsible for fetching data from the network (HTTP/HTTPS). getLocalRetrievalService() returns a separate instance that handles retrieval from the local file system. Both instances are thread-pool backed and process requests asynchronously. Returns: RetrievalService

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Task Service

getTaskService
public static TaskService getTaskService()
Returns the general-purpose TaskService used by WorldWind internally to run background work (e.g., tile loading). Applications can submit their own Runnable tasks to this service. Returns: TaskService

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Scheduled Task Service

getScheduledTaskService
public static ScheduledTaskService getScheduledTaskService()
Returns the ScheduledTaskService for tasks that should run after a delay or repeat at a fixed interval. This is backed by BasicScheduledTaskService and is always initialised directly (not via Configuration). Returns: ScheduledTaskService

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Memory Cache Set

getMemoryCacheSet / getMemoryCache
public static MemoryCacheSet getMemoryCacheSet()
public static synchronized MemoryCache getMemoryCache(String key)
getMemoryCacheSet() returns the registry of all named in-memory caches used throughout the SDK. getMemoryCache(String key) is a shorthand that looks up a single MemoryCache by its string key.
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key
String
The AVKey string identifying the specific cache (e.g., AVKey.TEXTURE_IMAGE_CACHE).
Returns: MemoryCacheSet / MemoryCache

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Network Status

getNetworkStatus
public static NetworkStatus getNetworkStatus()
Returns the NetworkStatus object that tracks which network hosts are reachable and whether the application is in offline mode. Individual host reachability is sampled lazily and cached. Returns: NetworkStatus

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Session Cache

getSessionCache
public static SessionCache getSessionCache()
Returns the lightweight SessionCache used to store transient per-session key/value pairs. Unlike the memory cache set, entries here have no capacity-based eviction policy — they persist for the lifetime of the WorldWind instance. Returns: SessionCache

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Component Factory

createConfigurationComponent
public static Object createConfigurationComponent(String classNameKey)
    throws IllegalStateException, IllegalArgumentException
Creates and returns a new instance of the class identified by classNameKey in the active Configuration. This is the primary factory method used internally whenever WorldWind instantiates a service or component (views, scene controllers, input handlers, etc.). The key is looked up via Configuration.getStringValue(classNameKey) and the resulting class name is instantiated by reflection using a no-argument constructor.
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classNameKey
String
required
An AVKey configuration key (e.g., AVKey.SCENE_CONTROLLER_CLASS_NAME) whose value is the fully-qualified class name to instantiate.
Returns: Object — a new instance of the configured class. Throws:
  • IllegalArgumentException — if classNameKey is null or empty.
  • IllegalStateException — if no class name is registered for the key, or if the class cannot be instantiated.
Using createConfigurationComponent
SceneController sc = (SceneController)
    WorldWind.createConfigurationComponent(AVKey.SCENE_CONTROLLER_CLASS_NAME);

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Offline Mode

isOfflineMode / setOfflineMode
public static boolean isOfflineMode()
public static void setOfflineMode(boolean offlineMode)
Controls whether WorldWind attempts any outbound network connections. When offline mode is true, all remote retrievals are suppressed and only locally cached data is used. The default value is false. These methods delegate to getNetworkStatus().
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offlineMode
boolean
Pass true to prevent any network access; false (default) to allow it.
Enabling offline mode
WorldWind.setOfflineMode(true);

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Shutdown

shutDown
public static synchronized void shutDown()
Fires SHUTDOWN_EVENT on all registered property-change listeners, disposes of every active service (task service, retrieval services, memory caches, session cache, scheduled task service), then reconstructs a fresh WorldWind singleton. Any open WorldWindow objects are in an indeterminate state after this call. WorldWind can continue to be used immediately after the call returns.

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Version

Version information is provided by the gov.nasa.worldwind.Version utility class, which is separate from the WorldWind singleton.
Querying version information
// Full version string, e.g. "NASA WorldWind Java v2.2.1"
String full = Version.getVersion();

// Version number only, e.g. "v2.2.1"
String number = Version.getVersionNumber();

// Individual components
String major = Version.getVersionMajorNumber(); // "2"
String minor = Version.getVersionMinorNumber(); // "2"
String dot   = Version.getVersionDotNumber();   // "1"
MethodReturnExample
Version.getVersion()String"NASA WorldWind Java v2.2.1"
Version.getVersionName()String"NASA WorldWind Java"
Version.getVersionNumber()String"v2.2.1"
Version.getVersionMajorNumber()String"2"
Version.getVersionMinorNumber()String"2"
Version.getVersionDotNumber()String"1"

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