Getting started with .NET API

The Maya .NET API is a system that allows developers to create plug-ins and extensions for Maya using Microsoft’s .NET technology. It includes the following features:

• A system for loading plug-in code from .NET assemblies
• .NET assemblies that plug-in writers can import to access the Maya SDK from .NET languages
• Services for embedding WPF/XAML windows into Maya’s QT system
• Examples written in C# for demonstrating the usage of the system

The Maya .NET API is similar to the Maya Python API in that it is generated from the Maya C++ API. Most classes in the .NET API have a corresponding class in the C++ API with the same name and with a similar interface (that is, a set of functions and classes).

C# classes are proxies for C++ classes.

The system provides the following advantages:

• Allow plug-in writers to accelerate their development of plug-ins by enabling the use of modern tools such as C# and .NET SDKs. The Maya SDK is provided in an idiomatic style for .NET programmers.
• Allow developers to better integrate their existing custom pipeline tools with Maya, and allow artists to have access to critical production tools inside of their content creation environment.
• Allow developers to re-use their existing investment in .NET code and WPF/XAML user interfaces by referencing their assemblies into their Maya plug-ins.