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Practical Maya Programming with Python

You're reading from   Practical Maya Programming with Python Unleash the power of Python in Maya and unlock your creativity

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Product type Paperback
Published in Jul 2014
Publisher
ISBN-13 9781849694728
Length 352 pages
Edition 1st Edition
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Author (1):
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Robert Galanakis Robert Galanakis
Author Profile Icon Robert Galanakis
Robert Galanakis
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Table of Contents (12) Chapters Close

Preface 1. Introspecting Maya, Python, and PyMEL FREE CHAPTER 2. Writing Composable Code 3. Dealing with Errors 4. Leveraging Context Managers and Decorators in Maya 5. Building Graphical User Interfaces for Maya 6. Automating Maya from the Outside 7. Taming the Maya API 8. Unleashing the Maya API through Python 9. Becoming a Part of the Python Community A. Python Best Practices Index

Introducing Maya's API and architecture


Maya, as we know, uses three distinct languages: MEL, Python, and C++. In previous chapters, we've used Python in much the same way as we would have used MEL, by creating high-level functionality and controls for Maya. We have seen, however, that the general purpose design of Python has allowed us to do things that we could not otherwise do in MEL. This includes building pure PySide GUIs in Chapter 5, Building Graphical User Interfaces for Maya, and the automation system from Chapter 6, Automating Maya from the Outside. These would simply not have been possible in MEL and would have required some Maya-specific C++ coding.

Another unique application of Python in Maya, and the focus of this chapter, is Python's access to the Maya API. In the previous section, we used the Maya Python API to draw into the active viewport. Having Maya's API exposed to Python means that every single artist and Python hacker has the full, raw power of Maya available. No one...

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