Documentation, Plugin Structure, Threading

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On 13/04/2011 at 10:46, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Hello,

I just did a call to Maxon, in order to ask about the Python Documentation. They said, here is the place to ask.

So, I'll do ;)

I am looking for the documentation regarding python plugin development (also scripting/XPresso Node).

For example I want to know, how to use the ObjectData, about the plugin-structures, what plugin-types can be built, what are the methods to override or not ?

Also, I guess there must be some kind of information regarding threads and how they get handled by Cinema. Who is calling what, when ?

Where can I find that ??

Thank you very much,
maxx

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On 13/04/2011 at 11:29, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Hey Maxx,

The SDK:
http://www.maxon.net/index.php?id=157&L=0

All you need is there. Examples, Language Overview, FAQ...

Good Luck. ;)

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On 13/04/2011 at 12:01, xxxxxxxx wrote:

And if you're still having questions, just ask. If your Question is not *too* dumb we will offer our help and provide sample code.
Cheers, nux

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On 13/04/2011 at 12:12, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Yea, thanks. I got the reference already ... but there is no detail about plugins or threading.

It seems to be a blank reference. I do not see any explanation on how to build a plugin or how Cinema handles threads. Also I can't spot anything about resources like dialogs.

Just an example I ran into:

The documentation says:

_<_dt id="c4d.call"_>_ c4d.CallButton( op , id )

Simulate a click of a button.
Parameters:|

• op ( BaseList2D) – The object.
• id ( int ) – The ID of the button._/ul>

But if I use the function within XPresso in a Python node, there is an exception:
RuntimeError: Illegal operation. Invalid cross-thread call.

So, it seems that function must be called in the main-thread ... or the GUI-thread ... or where ?

In order to not run into such problems, I wanted to read about how Cinema handles threads, callbacks ...

But I can't find any info about it. So, when I get this right, there is no further documentation. In order to code a plugin, I need another plugin, which I can dissect and learn from. This seems not very efficient ?

I got no problem figuring out how individual functions work. But I am missing the big-picture here.

BTW.: The FAQ and the Cookbook are awesome. Couldn't digest that much information at once ... :wink:

Thank you,
maxx

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On 13/04/2011 at 12:29, xxxxxxxx wrote:

You simply can *not* call a button from a Python Tag, Generator or Node. ;)
The same counts for a MessageDialog, etc.

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On 13/04/2011 at 12:39, xxxxxxxx wrote:

How to build a plugin:
Create a file, name it myplugin.pyp and put it in a new folder in plugins. You find nine plugin example in the doc.

Resources like dialogs:
Tricky, I search in the already existing resource folder of Cinema 4D to see how it works. Individual initiative. ;)

_<_dt id="c4d.call"_>_ c4d.CallButton( op , id ) :
I do not know, if you can use that in a python node. Please note, that you have to define at the top of your script:  import c4d

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On 13/04/2011 at 15:05, xxxxxxxx wrote:

maxx, I feel your pain :) there really is a lack of entry level documentation. one thing I found quite helpful was to look at the SDK examples, even though you have to translate those over from c++, but at least they help to give a rough idea of what's what. It would be great if there were a sort of repository that had a number of Python based samples for various standard tasks. Maybe with gaining popularity it'll come.

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On 13/04/2011 at 20:20, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Ok, I see. Was worth a try  :angry:

But I guess thats the way I'll go. Take the info from C++ examples. COFFEE I see gives some additional information too ...

Thank you,
maxx

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On 14/04/2011 at 03:32, xxxxxxxx wrote:

The plugin module contains links to information about plugin structure, and all types which can be used to create a plugin. The documentation also contains several Python examples which you can check out.