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Entity component system
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<p>Entity–component–system (ECS) is a <a href="/facts/Software_architecture/1Hokp0Ed">software architectural</a> pattern mostly used in <a href="/facts/Video_game_development/bzbpfYJd">video game development</a> for the representation of game world objects. An ECS comprises <i>entities</i> composed from <i>components</i> of data, with <i>systems</i> which operate on the components. </p><p>ECS follows the principle of <a href="/facts/Composition_over_inheritance/KBF2DslL">composition over inheritance</a>, meaning that every entity is defined not by a type hierarchy, but by the components that are associated with it. Systems act globally over all entities which have the required components. </p><p>Especially when written “Entity Component System”, due to an ambiguity in the English language, a common interpretation of the name is that an ECS is a system comprising entities and components. For example, in the 2002 talk at GDC, Scott Bilas compares a C++ object system and his new custom component system. This is consistent with a traditional use of <i>system</i> term in general <a href="/facts/Systems_engineering/gFwRmkDp">systems engineering</a> with <a href="/facts/Common_Lisp_Object_System/dDAH0cu9">Common Lisp Object System</a> and <a href="/facts/Type_system/Tz0bAMS9">type system</a> as examples. </p>