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Home > Game Development > Graphics Programming > Practical Maya Programming with Python
Practical Maya Programming with Python
Practical Maya Programming with Python

Practical Maya Programming with Python: Unleash the power of Python in Maya and unlock your creativity

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Practical Maya Programming with Python

Chapter 2. Writing Composable Code

In this chapter, we'll explore the concept of composable code. We start by defining the term. We then examine composable and non-composable examples to better understand what composability is, and improve code by refactoring. We will learn about important techniques to maximize composability, such as predicates, list comprehensions, contracts, closures, and docstrings. We put these techniques to work by building a library to convert a hierarchy of transforms into joints. After that, we compose this library into a configurable higher-level tool for creating characters. Finally, we will look at some issues and solutions surrounding PyMEL, composability, and performance.

Defining composability

The idea of composability is to write code as small and well-defined units that can be combined with other units in flexible and predictable ways. Composable code is decoupled and cohesive. That is, the code has few dependencies and is responsible for a single responsibility. Writing composable code is the key to creating maintainable systems and libraries you'll use for years.

Tip

A unit is a function, class, or method. It is generally the smallest piece of independently useful code, and should be smaller than a module or group of classes (system). There is no black and white definition, so prefer smaller and simpler to larger and more complex.

Maya's utility nodes, such as the MultiplyDivide node, are examples of composable units. They are very clear in their inputs, outputs, and descriptions of what they do. The input to a MultiplyDivide node can be a number from any source, such as a Maya transform, another utility node, or a constant. The MultiplyDivide...

Learning to use list comprehensions

Let's look at list comprehensions in depth now that we've used simpler versions several times. It's a powerful-yet-simple syntax that has been in Python since version 2.0. List comprehensions are described very succinctly and with very clear examples in PEP 202 at http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0202/.

Tip

A Python Enhancement Proposal (PEP) is a design document for a Python feature (or similar). Often it can be very long and technical. PEP 202 is a very straightforward PEP that is well worth reading, consisting of three paragraphs and one example block. Some other notable PEPs will be mentioned in this book and in the appendices.

Oh, and PEP 1 describes PEPs and the PEP process, of course.

A list comprehension has the following form:

[<map> for <variable> in <selection> | if <predicate>]

The map is the item that ends up in the list. It can be the same as variable if no transformation is to take place. It's commonly...

Writing a skeleton converter library

Let's put composability to work for us. We'll implement a true rite of passage for programming in Maya—a routine to automatically convert a hierarchy of nodes into a hierarchy of joints (a skeleton). This task allows us to focus on building small, composable pieces of code, and string them together so that the character creator tool we build later in the chapter can be very simple. These composable pieces won't just serve our character creator. They'll serve us all throughout the book and our coding lives.

Writing the docstring and pseudocode

Before we start coding, we need a place to put the code. Create the skeletonutils.py file inside the development root you chose in Chapter 1, Introspecting Maya, Python, and PyMEL. This book's examples use C:\mayapybook\pylib.

After creating skeletonutils.py, open it in your IDE. Add the following code. The code defines a function, a docstring that explains precisely what it will do...

Writing a character creator

So far, we've written the code to convert a hierarchy of transforms into joints. Now we must write something that we can hook up to a menu and a workflow. An overly simplified solution is to convert the current selection by assigning the following expression into a shelf button:

map(skeletonutils.convert_to_skeleton, pmc.selection())

But that's a pretty bad high-level function. What about error handling, user feedback, and the high-level decisions that we put off while writing the converter?

What we really want is something like the following:

charcreator.convert_hierarchies_main()

This can be hooked up to a menu button, which provides a better experience for the user and a place to make those decisions that we kept out of the skeletonutils module.

Stubbing out the character creator

Create a charcreator.py file next to the skeletonutils.py file in your development root, and open it up in your favorite IDE. Go ahead and type the following code, which will stub...

Improving the performance of PyMEL

I hope at this point, PyMEL's superiority over maya.cmds has been thoroughly demonstrated. If you have any doubt, feel free to rewrite the examples in this chapter to use maya.cmds and see how much cleaner the PyMEL versions are.

Having said that, PyMEL can be slower than maya.cmds. The performance difference can usually be made up by applying one of the following three improvements.

Defining performance

For most scripts, the performance difference is too miniscule to matter. Fast and slow are relative terms. The important metric is fast enough. If your code is fast enough, performance improvements won't really matter. Most of the tools you will write fall under this category. For example, making a pose mirroring tool go 500% faster doesn't matter if it only takes a tenth of a second in the first place.

Refactoring for performance

In most cases where PyMEL code actually needs to be sped up, rewriting small parts can make huge gains. Is your code...

Defining composability

The idea of composability is to write code as small and well-defined units that can be combined with other units in flexible and predictable ways. Composable code is decoupled and cohesive. That is, the code has few dependencies and is responsible for a single responsibility. Writing composable code is the key to creating maintainable systems and libraries you'll use for years.

Tip

A unit is a function, class, or method. It is generally the smallest piece of independently useful code, and should be smaller than a module or group of classes (system). There is no black and white definition, so prefer smaller and simpler to larger and more complex.

Maya's utility nodes, such as the MultiplyDivide node, are examples of composable units. They are very clear in their inputs, outputs, and descriptions of what they do. The input to a MultiplyDivide node can be a number from any source, such as a Maya transform, another utility node, or a constant. The MultiplyDivide node does...

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Description

Practical Maya Programming with Python is a practical tutorial packed with plenty of examples and sample projects which guides you through building reusable, independent modules and handling unexpected errors. If you are a developer looking to build a powerful system using Python and Maya's capabilities, then this book is for you. Practical Maya Programming with Python is perfect for intermediate users with basic experience in Python and Maya who want to better their knowledge and skills.

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Publication date : Jul 25, 2014
Length: 352 pages
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Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781849694735
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Category :
Game Development
Languages :
Python
Concepts :
Graphics Programming
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Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781849694735
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Autodesk
Category :
Game Development
Languages :
Python
Concepts :
Graphics Programming
Tools :
Maya

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Table of Contents

11 Chapters
1. Introspecting Maya, Python, and PyMEL Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
1. Introspecting Maya, Python, and PyMEL
Creating your library
Exploring Maya and PyMEL
Building the pmhelp function
Summary
2. Writing Composable Code Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Writing Composable Code
Defining composability
Learning to use list comprehensions
Writing a skeleton converter library
Writing a character creator
Improving the performance of PyMEL
Summary
3. Dealing with Errors Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Dealing with Errors
Understanding exceptions
Living with unhandled exceptions
Golden rules of error handling
Practical error handling in Maya
Building a high-level error handler
Installing the error handler
Improving the error handler
Summary
4. Leveraging Context Managers and Decorators in Maya Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Leveraging Context Managers and Decorators in Maya
Inverting the subroutine
Introducing decorators
Introducing context managers
Context managers for changing scene state
Creating the denormalized_skin context manager
Creating a decorator to record metrics
Advanced decorator topics
Summary
5. Building Graphical User Interfaces for Maya Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Building Graphical User Interfaces for Maya
Introducing Qt, PyQt, and PySide
Establishing rules for crafting a GUI
Installing PySide
Supporting PySide and PyQt
Creating the hierarchy converter GUI
Integrating the tool GUI with Maya
Working with menus
Working with Maya shelves
Summary
6. Automating Maya from the Outside Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Automating Maya from the Outside
Controlling Maya through request-reply
Designing the automation system
Understanding the Maya startup routine
Building the request-reply automation system
Practical uses and improvements
Summary
7. Taming the Maya API Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Taming the Maya API
Explaining types
Introducing Maya's API and architecture
Learning the Maya Python API by example
Creating a Maya Python plugin
Using PyMEL in a plugin that loads during startup
Summary
8. Unleashing the Maya API through Python Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Unleashing the Maya API through Python
Understanding Dependency Graph plugins
Demystifying Python metaprogramming
Designing the node factory
Building the node factory
Extending the node factory
Summary
9. Becoming a Part of the Python Community Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
9. Becoming a Part of the Python Community
Understanding Open Source Software
Creating a site directory for third-party modules
Working with Python distributions in Maya
Contributing to the open source community
Engaging with the wider community
Summary
A. Python Best Practices Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
A. Python Best Practices
The args and kwargs parameters
String formatting
String concatenation
Raw strings and string literals
Path building and manipulation
Unicode strings
Using the doctest module
Adopting Test-Driven Development
Using the GitHub repository for this book
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index

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Amazon Customer Oct 09, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
An extremely well thought out and informative book, a must have for any tech artist or anyone who wants to improve their Maya workflow. This is definitely one of the best resources I've come across for scripting in any 3d package
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Carleton Bray May 09, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I can't really say anything that hasn't already been said by the other glowing reviews, but they are indeed well-deserved. The depth and breadth of topics covered is impressive, if not a bit daunting at first. I've only read through it to get an idea of the content covered, and now I find myself following along and learning a ton. PyMEL is without a doubt the way that Python should have been implemented into Maya to begin with. Python is indeed my favorite (and only) language that I "program" with (I'm originally an animator, trying to transition to becoming a tech-artist). You will NOT find a better book on programming specifically inside of Maya with Python (Maya Programming for Games and Film is good, but is more geared towards beginners). Even if you're not a Maya user, a LARGE portion of the concepts in the book can theoretically be software-agnostic. I'm finding it very difficult to be nit-picky about this book.I eagerly await a second edition, where Mr. Galanakis goes into even deeper topics. If you're trying to level up in your technical skills, accept no substitute.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
SuJo Sep 15, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Practical Maya Programming with PythonPublisher Link: https://www.packtpub.com/hardware-and-creative/practical-maya-programming-pythonThis book was amazing, I'm by no means a Python expert and I'm just getting started, and this book exceeded my expectations. Right away I was put into creating a development area and getting familiar with the interpreter, and the author wasted little time with getting everything setup and going. PyMEL was new to me but this book made it approachable and easy to understand. I'm a huge fan of writing reusable code, it saves time, makes life easy, and once you gain enough experience it will show in your coding techniques. I'm very pleased the author spoke on refactoring code, again it's something that comes with experience and time. Learning to look over your code and going "Ah, I can totally do it better this time around." is a really awesome experience.From performance to error handling this book kept me reading and wanting to do more, not only did I feel the examples were great, they gave me an excellent starting point and provided me with a solid foundation with Maya and PyMEL. The chapter on error handling is full of so much great information you'll have to read it a few times, unless you're a super computer capable of remembering everything. Overall this book is highly recommended from beginner to expert.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
VytautasVincevicius Nov 23, 2014
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good book
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Ronnie L. Ashlock Jul 12, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I'm fairly early into my journey with this book and I can already say it is worth every penny. There's a lot here still way above my head, but the information is presented in a very clear and logical format, and more importantly, the book is transformative. It's a deep dive, but Rob keeps the waters clear. Some knowledge of Maya and Python is expected, so there isn't a lot of hand-holding, but that's not really a problem. It's a better use of the book to get right down to business - and you can easily find supplementary introductions to both Maya and Python online or here on Amazon.Overall, this book is highly recommended. I like the Rob's writing style and his knowledge and experience are invaluable. Required reading for anyone even thinking about learning PyMEL.
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About the author

Profile icon Galanakis
Galanakis
Robert Galanakis is a technical artist cum programmer who has worked in various areas of game development. He is the Technical Director of EVE Online at CCP Games, Iceland, where he focuses on Python, Lean, and Agile training and evangelism. In 2008, Rob founded tech-artists.org, which is the largest and the most active community focused on tech art on the Internet. He has spoken at Game Developers Conference several times and has also written many articles about tools, pipelines, and culture. His blog can be found at www.robg3d.com. He lives in Reykjavík, Iceland, with his wife Casady and their son Marcus.
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  • You can get the information you need immediately
  • You can easily take them with you on a laptop
  • You can download them an unlimited number of times
  • You can print them out
  • They are copy-paste enabled
  • They are searchable
  • There is no password protection
  • They are lower price than print
  • They save resources and space
What is an eBook? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Packt eBooks are a complete electronic version of the print edition, available in PDF and ePub formats. Every piece of content down to the page numbering is the same. Because we save the costs of printing and shipping the book to you, we are able to offer eBooks at a lower cost than print editions.

When you have purchased an eBook, simply login to your account and click on the link in Your Download Area. We recommend you saving the file to your hard drive before opening it.

For optimal viewing of our eBooks, we recommend you download and install the free Adobe Reader version 9.

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