Skincluster == Api?

[f117f117f117677]

hey guys:

the mel command "skinCluster -tsb joint1 joint3 pPlane1",
this make that Bind joint1 and joint3 to pPlane1.

and i want to know what Api functions complete this command(skinCluster) in maya core ?

thanks a lot.

[rob-bateman]

QUOTE(f117f117f11 @ 12/05/07, 04:12 AM) [snapback]277609[/snapback]
and i want to know what Api functions complete this command(skinCluster) in maya core ?

There is MFnSkinCluster class, but in all honesty you are better off just using the skinCluster mel command, then setting and getting the data manually from the skin cluster attributes.

[f117f117f117677]

QUOTE(Rob Bateman @ 12/05/07, 05:57 AM) [snapback]277613[/snapback]
There is MFnSkinCluster class, but in all honesty you are better off just using the skinCluster mel command, then setting and getting the data manually from the skin cluster attributes.

i have to do that. beaause my boss want me to use C++.
anyway thank you very much.

and i am still confused that MFnSkinCluster is function set, what object data it deal with?
just like MDagPath and MFnDagNode.

[rob-bateman]

DagPath != DagNode. The MDagPath is a first type object - basically a handle to a shape or a transform. The MFnDagNode manipulates node's of type MFn::kDagNode. The dag node contains one or more dag paths (for each instance), and a whole load of other attributes and functionality. Similarly MFnSkinCluster manipulates nodes of type MFn::kSkinCluster, or mel name skinCluster. take a look in the Maya help DGnode & Attributes reference for details on the node's attributes, then get/set that data either by using the findPlug() methods on MFnDependencyNode, or the easier to use MFnSkinCluster functions. There is no MSkinCluster object in the API. Neither is there an MDagNode..... They are all referenced by MObjects and transforms & shapes can also be referenced by MDagPaths if you want to be able to specify an instance of that object in the scene. (i.e. same geometry, but parented under 2 transforms, which gives you 1 MObject for the shape, and 2 MDagPaths to represent the instance of that shape).

And tell your boss from me that using the mel command to create the skin cluster is easier than using the API to do everything (i just use MGlobal::executeCommand to create it, then MFnDependencyNode::findPlug() to manipulate the nodes data - which IS the fastest way to do it).

If you do the same thing entirely with get/set with mel (using undoInfo to turn on the undo stack), it's only about 10% slower than the API.

[f117f117f117677]

QUOTE(Rob Bateman @ 12/06/07, 04:28 AM) [snapback]277658[/snapback]
DagPath != DagNode. The MDagPath is a first type object - basically a handle to a shape or a transform. The MFnDagNode manipulates node's of type MFn::kDagNode. The dag node contains one or more dag paths (for each instance), and a whole load of other attributes and functionality. Similarly MFnSkinCluster manipulates nodes of type MFn::kSkinCluster, or mel name skinCluster. take a look in the Maya help DGnode & Attributes reference for details on the node's attributes, then get/set that data either by using the findPlug() methods on MFnDependencyNode, or the easier to use MFnSkinCluster functions. There is no MSkinCluster object in the API. Neither is there an MDagNode..... They are all referenced by MObjects and transforms & shapes can also be referenced by MDagPaths if you want to be able to specify an instance of that object in the scene. (i.e. same geometry, but parented under 2 transforms, which gives you 1 MObject for the shape, and 2 MDagPaths to represent the instance of that shape).

And tell your boss from me that using the mel command to create the skin cluster is easier than using the API to do everything (i just use MGlobal::executeCommand to create it, then MFnDependencyNode::findPlug() to manipulate the nodes data - which IS the fastest way to do it).

If you do the same thing entirely with get/set with mel (using undoInfo to turn on the undo stack), it's only about 10% slower than the API.

ok thanks.
i want to complete this command "skin>bind skin>smooth bind" by
API functions. so i have this question and i think i should use skinCluster to do it.
does this work? and i don't know how to use MFnskinCluster.

firstly, i know using mel is easier to do this.
and let me introduce my work and myself.
i am studing 3d animation to get my Master degree, and my Master
paper is that constructing somebody's motion library( include lots of
action feature). i choose maya as my programme platform.
and the C++ coder has larger market than mel coder
in my country. however, my boss want me to do C++ programme
so that maybe i can find a better job later.

now when user push the menu( or button ), i want to know what APi functions
be called inside maya. my work is that code functions to complete my model's
action(just like pull the translate/rotate/scale controller).

thanks again for your help. i will do my best to finish it.

[joojaa]

QUOTE(f117f117f11 @ 12/07/07, 03:10 AM) [snapback]277705[/snapback]
now when user push the menu( or button ), i want to know what APi functions
be called inside maya. my work is that code functions to complete my model's
action(just like pull the translate/rotate/scale controller).

Yes but what Bateman is trying to tell you is that things don't really work thatway. Theres quite a many things that mel does very good but that api does not do at all. Its not a either or thing, its a BOTH kind of thing. The only reason you'd ever do something the mel does easily with pure c++ code if need to mask what your doing form the general populace. (but better mask just part of it, as you can easily make a few hours mel script a 1 year api coding session)

Theres a bit of confusion about this. Manby people think mel is inefficient. And it is partially slow to react to the datasets transfers. But the claim that api is 1000 faster than mel is just a outright lie. It only applies to a very very small subset of stuff. Sometimes mel is outright faster than what you can tediously cook up in the api after 1 month of work.

In the order of thing each mel call represent a HUGE amount of api calls if it even then is comparable. So the equivalent of having one mel call can translate to a 1000 lines of code quite easily. They dont even begin to try to operate on same level of thinking. It just dont work. Working with the api is just so much more low level.