Distinguishing Python

Kristine Middlemiss, Senior Developer Consultant

Autodesk Developer Network (ADN)

© 2012 Autodesk 1
 Session Agenda
• Working with Modules
• Utilities functions
• Maya Standalone
• Python and MEL Scripting

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 Working with Modules
Navigating the Maya Python namespace

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Maya Python Modules
maya Top-level module

maya.cmds Maya commands (e.g.

sphere, getAttr) and plug-in
commands
maya.OpenMaya* OpenMaya API modules

maya.utils Utilities not specific to API

or Maya commands
maya.standalone Initialization routine for
standalone Python
maya.app Python code used to
implement Maya
maya.mel.eval() Runs MEL commands as a
string
maya.stringTable This is the strings used to
built the UI, for localization
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Python Modules
• All Python functionality in contained in modules
• Modules may have hierarchy (e.g os.path)
• Import modules to access them

import maya.cmds
maya.cmds.sphere()

import maya.cmds as cmds

cmds.sphere()

from maya.cmds import *

sphere()

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Importing Modules
There are three forms of import:

1. Import a module using full namespace

2. Import a module using full namespace, but choose a

new name

3. Import an item from anther module into your global

namespace

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Using Modules
• To use a module in your code, use “import”
• “import” adds a module to the namespace of your code
• “import” searches sys.path
• Similar to “source” in MEL

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Script Modules
• Module is used to define closely related functionality
• Use Python "import" command to bring in modules
import myModule
myModule.myFunction()
# Result: 1 #

• reload" command updates module:

reload( myModule )

• Module must be available in path

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Python Path
• PYTHONPATH environment variable
• Read when Python initializes
• Stored in sys.path
• sys.path
• Can be modified after Python is initialized

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Scripts Path
• PYTHONPATH defines search path for scripts

• Includes standard Maya script paths

• Update at startup via Maya.env file

• Update from Python:

import sys
sys.path.append( "C:/scripts" )

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Maya Environment Variable
• Text file: Maya.env

• Recommended approach of setting environment variable

• Syntax:
 PYTHONPATH = C:\Users\wengn\Documents\test

• Save it to
 C:\Users\wengn\Documents\maya\2012\Maya.env

•
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Config File
• Create a userConfig.py file and add it to somewhere on
your path (PYTHONPATH)
• You can add imports and whatever
• Changes will show up in top level context

import maya.cmds as cmds

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Other Useful Modules (externally)
os process management,
environment variables,
etc
os.path file path routines: join, split,
etc.
sys shell arguments (argv),
python globals
re regular expressions

urllib2 URL access

pickle object archiving

getopt command line argument

parsing
math assorted math routines and
constants
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 Utility Functions

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Utility Functions
• maya.utils
 Utilities that are not API or Command specific are located in
maya.utils
 Only two functions there so far
1. maya.utils.executeInMainThreadWithResult()
2. maya.utils.processIdleEvents()

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Utility Functions
• maya.utils.executeInMainThreadWithResult
• executeInMainThreadWithResult allows other threads
to call Maya routines which are not thread safe
• It only works from the GUI app as it uses idle events
• Thread blocks until main thread completes execution
• Any result or exception is passed to the calling thread

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Utility Functions
• maya.utils.executeInMainThreadWithResult
• executeInMainThreadWithResult can accept either a
string to evaluate or a Python function

def myProc():
return maya.cmds.ls()
res = maya.utils.executeInMainThread( myProc )

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Utility Functions
• maya.utils.processIdleEvents
• maya.utils.processIdleEvents() is mainly used for
testing
• It tells the idle queue to process existing idle events
• Returns True if all items on the idle queue were
processed

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 Maya Standalone

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Importing Maya into external
interpreter
• Maya modules can be used within an external Python
interpreter as long as:
• version numbers match well enough
• environment is correct
• Maya ships with a “python” command in the bin directory
of the distribution
• Included “python” command sets up correct environment
and runs Maya’s version of Python

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Initialization
• Using Maya in a standalone Python interpreter is similar
to writing a library mode app using the API
• Maya must be initialized before Maya’s Python APIs are
used
• Initialization is done as follows

import maya.standalone
maya.standalone.initialize( name=’python’ )

• Initialization takes a while to run

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 Python & MEL Scripting

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Maya Python Scripts
• All "Maya Commands" (previously called "MEL
Commands") now accessible from Python

• Exposed through the maya.cmds module:

MEL:
select pCube1;
ls –sl;

Python:
import maya.cmds
maya.cmds.select( “pCube1“ )
maya.cmds.ls( sl=True )

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Python vs. MEL
• Use a good text editor and don’t mix tabs and spaces
 Tabs are 8 spaces by default
• You must explicitly import all external code
 No auto finding of global functions
 Global scope has a different definition in both languages
• All object names must be quoted
• Booleans in Python are “True” and “False” capitalized
• Importing a module again does not reload it
 Use reload command instead (i.e. reload(maya.test.UtilsTest))
• Use PYTHONPATH instead of MAYA_SCRIPT_PATH

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Interoperability between scripting
languages
• Python can call MEL and MEL can call Python

• New Python scripts must hook into existing MEL-

based UI

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MEL to Python
• MEL has a new “python” command that can be used to
call into Python
• Takes a string containing Python code
• Returns the result of the computation
 Basic Python types are converted into matching MEL type
(e.g.strings, ints, lists of ints, etc.)
 All other types are converted into their string representation

import myModule
$result = python( “myModule.myMelProc()” )

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Python to MEL
• Python has maya.mel() function, which is possibly
• moving to maya.cmds.mel()
• Takes a string containing MEL code
• Returns the result of the computation
• All MEL return values are converted into a logical Python
value

result = maya.mel( “myMelProc()” )

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Python/MEL communication
• Invoke MEL from Python:
import maya.mel
maya.mel.eval( "ls -sl" )
# Result: ['pSphere1'] #

• Invoke Python from MEL:

“python” command
string $foo[] = python( "['a','b','c']" );
size($foo);
// Result: 3 //

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Python/MEL communication
• Accessing Python information from MEL
Python:
class MyFile:
_f = "mytestfile.txt"

mf = MyFile()

MEL:
string $f = python("mf._f");
print $f;

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 Autodesk

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