Rotations: Can this be done?

Hi, I am not asking anyone here in the group to do anything more than tell me if the concept I have is possible.
I have noticed that doors are often not attached to buildings if they are to open and close, because, as I have found out from playing with door scripts, if I link them, then everything rotates.
Is there a way to make a prim that will rotate on its own while being linked to other objects that do not have rotation/door scripts in their contents.
I figure that I will not pursue this unless the answer is yes.
I have seen THiNC books, so I imagine it is possible.
Thanks.

heyas;

yes, it can be done. probably it isnt done more often because doing so requires more calculations. and, most importantly, because rotations of child objects are bugged. so when most normal scripters attempt to open a linked door, the whole thing goes fubar.

its just the same as the flapping flexi wings, really. :)


child rotation bug:
/54/c1/94705/1.html

please see lex neva's post about this bug and how to work around it.

Another consideration: prim drift. When you rotate a prim linked to a larger set, and rotate it back (like a door), SL recalculates the center of the entire object and over time floating-point precision errors accumulate, causing parts (or all) of the rest of the build to drift slightly in position and/or rotation. In some circumstances you can see noticeable movement over a period of days or weeks, and even see cracks in the seams between prims as they lose their precise relative positions. So keep that possibility in mind as you decide whether or not you really need that door linked.

Yes, it is perfectly possible, and as long as you are prepared to implement the math, arbitrarily complex hierarchies of child prims in a single object can be rotated about each others' axes quite reliably. <plug>See for example the JP/Lfox Lazyboy chair.</plug>

The 'child rotation bug' is technically a 'documentation error', and the workaround, er, works.

The one caveat I would issue is that you have no control over 'when' your child prims actually perform the rotations you have requested, or of the route they take to get there, so with complex assemblies, the visual effects can be unexpectedly entertaining, as each prim ambles reluctantly towards its allotted new position.

Check out this from the wiki:
http://www.lslwiki.org/index.php/LibraryTimelessLinkedDoor

Thanks for all the great feedback. This should keep me busy for a few days.
Math? Did somebody say math?