I have a couple small projects that I want to use to learn python. What version should I be using if I want to move to scripting for Maya, Blender, etc later? Also, what resources are there for scripting for those programs?
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I have a couple small projects that I want to use to learn python. What version should I be using if I want to move to scripting for Maya, Blender, etc later? Also, what resources are there for scripting for those programs?
If you are using Maya 2011 it comes bundled with and bound to py 2.6.4 already. You don’t need a separate install, not even for pyMEL anymore.
If you want to learn Python on its own before applying the knowledge to a 3D app, then pretty much any 2.x Python will do really, the version specific features only come into play a while away if you’re at your first steps.
2.6.4 though would of course be a good choice, as it will be aligned to what you might be using in Maya and Softimage right out of the gate.
Stay away from py3k for now as adoption in our field seems to be a long way away still.
As for resources, for Python and Maya together, close to nothing, but most of the programming oriented material I’ve seen published insofar, with only a handful of notable exceptions such as Gould’s material, is usually between underwhelming and plain amateurish.
You’re better off with a decent entry level book that doesn’t assume the reader is drooling idiot (I still rate O’Reilly’s learning Python very highly), sites like StackOverflow for idiomatic questions, and a lot of practice and browsing to make the necessary mental connection and exercise a bit when it comes to the specifics of the Maya scripting API.
Having a look early at pyMEL, since it’s now bundled, also won’t hurt.
The default, old maya commands and mel wrapper-like modules are truly atrocious and as far from Pythonic as they could make them.
pyMEL, while not 100% of the way there, has a stronger object orientation and doesn’t read like a large population of monkeys was suddenly handled typewriters.