Scripting Components Available in the SDK

The scripting or programming language that you choose provides the framework for being able to automatically communicate with Autodesk Softimage. What the SDK provides is certain keywords that mean something to Softimage, so that when you use them in a script or a program, Softimage responds in some way.

These keywords are usually divided into two main categories:

• Commands—see Scripting Command API for information about how commands fit into the Autodesk Softimage SDK.

• ICE Nodes—see ICE Node Particles for information about how to use ICE Nodes to simulate particles, rigid bodies, hair, etc.

• Object Model—see Softimage Object Model for information about how the object model fits into the Autodesk Softimage SDK.

| The SDK also uses special keywords called Constants, most of which are specific to a particular command or method. Constants are like pointers that refer to a value. Typically, these are generally treated as part of the object model, even though some commands use certain constants.

For example, here are two ways to do the same thing in Softimage, one using native Softimage commands and the other using the object model :

       // Create a mesh cube using native Softimage commands
       var myCube = CreatePrim( "Cube", "MeshSurface" );

       // Create a mesh cube using the object model
       var oCube = Application.ActiveSceneRoot.AddGeometry( "Cube", "MeshSurface" );

Comm ands

In the Autodesk Softimage SDK, a command is any function that appears in the list of registered commands (CommandMap). This includes all the native Softimage scripting commands as well as any custom commands you may create and save yourself.

The Commands section contains a list of all native Softimage commands with descriptions, a list of parameters (where applicable), and examples that illustrate how to use them. Custom commands are not included in this set of documentation, because they are created by Autodesk Softimage users, and therefore vary from installation to installation.

ICE Nodes

The ICE Nodes Reference provides information about the fundamental nodes (that is, non-compound or task nodes) available in Autodesk Softimage, including port descriptions and data, structure, and context constraints across input and output ports.

ICE Compounds are fully documented in the user guides, only a quick list of links to available compounds is provided in the SDK.

Object Model

The Autodesk Softimage SDK object model contains objects that consist of properties (definitions or pointers specific to its object) and methods (functions specific to its object). These objects are arranged in a hierarchy of inheritance, so that an object’s children inherit its methods and properties.

This guide contains a list of all Objects, Methods, Properties and Constants available in the SDK. These entries provide descriptions, examples (for most entries) that illustrate how to use them, and parameters (where applicable). In addition, the object entries includes a list of the methods and properties available for that object.

What You Need To Know about Passing Empty Arguments

Commands use argument handlers which are specialized objects for converting and validating command arguments. This means that Softimage checks each argument passed to make sure its type is correct, or that the argument contains some data. For example, if Softimage checks an optional argument and finds that it is null (nothing was passed to the command), it ignores it and the command passes validation.

| This is not the case with methods in the object model, for which Softimage does no validation: in those cases, the author is expected to pass in the correct type of argument. For that reason, if you want to pass a null argument, you need to use an empty string. One exception is the ApplyOperator command. This is a low-level command that does not perform any validation on its inputs. Use ApplyOp instead, or use ApplyOperator with caution.

Autodesk Softimage v7.5