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MUniformParameter Class Reference

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Detailed Description

Uniform parameter.

The MUniformParameter class provides a high-level interface to hardware shader uniform parameters. By defining your shader's uniform parameters through this class, you allow Maya to handle the attributes, editing, serialisation, and caching for you in a standard way that ensure you'll be able to leverage future performance and functionlity improvements.

At setup time (either initial load or when the effect/technique is changed), your shader simply creates the list of parameters it requires, specifying the name, type, semantic of the parameters. At render time, you can then use the parameters to directly access the appropriate buffers for that surface data.

If you include a custom Attribute Editor template for your shader node, you can include these surface parameters by calling the AEhwUniformTemplateParameters script function. The following sample code provides a basic template you can modify - however your AE template can use as much or as little of this as you like:

global int $yourUniformNameTemplateInitialised = 0;

global proc AEyourUniformNameTemplate ( string $node )
{
    global int $yourUniformNameTemplateInitialised;
    if( $yourUniformNameTemplateInitialised == 0)
    {
        source "AEhwUniformTemplate.mel";
        $yourUniformNameTemplateInitialised = 1;
    }

    AEhwUniformTemplateHeader( $node);

    // Insert custom attributes between the swatch and the parameters here

    AEhwUniformTemplateParameters( $node);

    // Insert custom attributes after the parameters here

    AEhwUniformTemplateFooter( $node);
}
Examples:

hlslShader.cpp.

#include <MUniformParameter.h>

List of all members.

Public Types

enum   DataType {
  kTypeUnknown, kTypeBool, kTypeInt, kTypeFloat,
  kType1DTexture, kType2DTexture, kType3DTexture, kTypeCubeTexture,
  kTypeEnvTexture, kTypeString
}
 

Parameter data types.

More...
enum   DataSemantic {
  kSemanticUnknown, kSemanticObjectDir, kSemanticWorldDir, kSemanticViewDir,
  kSemanticProjectionDir, kSemanticObjectPos, kSemanticWorldPos, kSemanticViewPos,
  kSemanticProjectionPos, kSemanticColor, kSemanticNormal, kSemanticBump,
  kSemanticEnvironment, kSemanticWorldMatrix, kSemanticWorldInverseMatrix, kSemanticWorldInverseTransposeMatrix,
  kSemanticViewMatrix, kSemanticViewInverseMatrix, kSemanticViewInverseTransposeMatrix, kSemanticProjectionMatrix,
  kSemanticProjectionInverseMatrix, kSemanticProjectionInverseTransposeMatrix, kSemanticWorldViewMatrix, kSemanticWorldViewInverseMatrix,
  kSemanticWorldViewInverseTransposeMatrix, kSemanticWorldViewProjectionMatrix, kSemanticWorldViewProjectionInverseMatrix, kSemanticWorldViewProjectionInverseTransposeMatrix,
  kSemanticColorTexture, kSemanticNormalTexture, kSemanticBumpTexture, kSemanticNormalizationTexture,
  kSemanticTime
}
 

Parameter semantics (i.e. what the parameter represents).

More...

Public Member Functions

  MUniformParameter ()
  Create an uninitialised (i.e.
  MUniformParameter (const MString &name, DataType type, DataSemantic semantic, unsigned int numRows=1, unsigned int numColumns=1, void *userData=NULL)
  Create a new uniform parameter.
  ~MUniformParameter ()
  Class destructor.
const MUniformParameter operator= (const MUniformParameter &other)
  Assignment operator.
const MString name () const
  Get the name of this parameter.
MUniformParameter::DataType  type () const
  Get the type of this parameter.
MUniformParameter::DataSemantic  semantic () const
  Get the semantic of this parameter.
unsigned int  numRows () const
  Get the number of rows in this parameter.
unsigned int  numColumns () const
  Get the number of columns in this parameter.
unsigned int  numElements () const
  Get the number of elements in this parameter (including rows and columns)
void *  userData () const
  Get the user data for this parameter.
bool  isATexture () const
  Test if this parameter stores a texture.
bool  hasChanged (const MGeometryList &iterator) const
  Has the value of this parameter changed since the last time it was accessed? This allow your shader to minimise state changes by only updating modified parameters.
const float *  getAsFloatArray (const MGeometryList &iterator) const
  Get the value of this uniform parameter as one or more floating point values.
void  setAsFloatArray (const float *value, unsigned int maxElements) const
  Set the value of this uniform parameter as one or more floating point values.
float  getAsFloat (const MGeometryList &iterator) const
  Get the value of this uniform parameter as a float.
void  setAsFloat (float value) const
  Set the value of this uniform parameter as a float.
MString  getAsString (const MGeometryList &iterator) const
  Get the value of this uniform parameter as a string.
void  setAsString (const MString &value) const
  Set the value of this uniform parameter as a string.
bool  getAsBool (const MGeometryList &iterator) const
  Get the value of this uniform parameter as a boolean value.
void  setAsBool (bool value) const
  Set the value of this uniform parameter as a boolean value.
int  getAsInt (const MGeometryList &iterator) const
  Get the value of this uniform parameter as an integer.
void  setAsInt (int value) const
  Set the value of this uniform parameter as an integer value.
MPlug  getSource () const
  Get the source plug connected to this parameter.
void  setDirty ()
  Mark the data for this parameter as dirty.

Friends

class  MUniformParameterList

Member Enumeration Documentation

enum DataType

Parameter data types.

Enumerator:
kTypeUnknown 

 

kTypeBool 

 

kTypeInt 

 

kTypeFloat 

 

kType1DTexture 

 

kType2DTexture 

 

kType3DTexture 

 

kTypeCubeTexture 

 

kTypeEnvTexture 

 

kTypeString 

 

Parameter semantics (i.e. what the parameter represents).

Enumerator:
kSemanticUnknown 

 

kSemanticObjectDir 

 

kSemanticWorldDir 

 

kSemanticViewDir 

 

kSemanticProjectionDir 

 

kSemanticObjectPos 

 

kSemanticWorldPos 

 

kSemanticViewPos 

 

kSemanticProjectionPos 

 

kSemanticColor 

 

kSemanticNormal 

 

kSemanticBump 

 

kSemanticEnvironment 

 

kSemanticWorldMatrix 

 

kSemanticWorldInverseMatrix 

 

kSemanticWorldInverseTransposeMatrix 

 

kSemanticViewMatrix 

 

kSemanticViewInverseMatrix 

 

kSemanticViewInverseTransposeMatrix 

 

kSemanticProjectionMatrix 

 

kSemanticProjectionInverseMatrix 

 

kSemanticProjectionInverseTransposeMatrix 

 

kSemanticWorldViewMatrix 

 

kSemanticWorldViewInverseMatrix 

 

kSemanticWorldViewInverseTransposeMatrix 

 

kSemanticWorldViewProjectionMatrix 

 

kSemanticWorldViewProjectionInverseMatrix 

 

kSemanticWorldViewProjectionInverseTransposeMatrix 

 

kSemanticColorTexture 

 

kSemanticNormalTexture 

 

kSemanticBumpTexture 

 

kSemanticNormalizationTexture 

 

kSemanticTime 

 


Constructor & Destructor Documentation

Create an uninitialised (i.e.

NULL) uniform parameter.

MUniformParameter ( const MString name,
DataType  type,
DataSemantic  semantic,
unsigned int  numRows = 1,
unsigned int  numColumns = 1,
void *  userData = NULL 
)

Create a new uniform parameter.

Parameters:
[in] name the name of the new parameter. For independently configurable inputs, this must be unique across all parameters on the shader. If multiple parameters share the same name, only a single input will be presented to the user, and the value used to populate the set of commonly named parameters.
[in] type the type of the new parameter. This can either be an atomic type (e.g. float), or a structure containing other parameters. Vectors of atomic types (e.g. float4) are defined by setting the atomic type to kFloat, and specifying the maxElements value of 4.
[in] semantic specifies the expected usage of the paramter (e.g. we expect this to be a colour, or a tangent, etc). This gives Maya a hint as to how the input should be presented to the user, and possibly even which input data is valid for this parameter. This value is ignored for structures.
[in] numRows specifies the number of row of the specified type to include (e.g. a vector would have 3 floats)
[in] numColumns specifies the number of columns of the specified type to include (e.g. a matrix would have 4 rows and 4 columns of floats)
[in] userData opaque data your plugin can use to store the relationship between this parameter and your shader (e.g. a parameter handle)

Member Function Documentation

const MUniformParameter & operator= ( const MUniformParameter src )

Assignment operator.

Parameters:
[in] src Right operand.
const MString & name ( ) const

Get the name of this parameter.

Returns:
The name of this parameter
Examples:
hlslShader.cpp.

Get the type of this parameter.

Returns:
The type of this parameter
Examples:
hlslShader.cpp.
MUniformParameter::DataSemantic semantic ( ) const

Get the semantic of this parameter.

Returns:
The semantic of this parameter
unsigned int numRows ( ) const

Get the number of rows in this parameter.

Returns:
The number of rows in this parameter
unsigned int numColumns ( ) const

Get the number of columns in this parameter.

Returns:
The number of columns in this parameter
unsigned int numElements ( ) const

Get the number of elements in this parameter (including rows and columns)

Returns:
The number of elements in this parameter
Examples:
hlslShader.cpp.
void * userData ( ) const

Get the user data for this parameter.

User data can be used to store plugin specific information that you want to associate with this parameter. Typically this will be used to store a handle to the effect parameter.

Returns:
The user data for this parameter
Examples:
hlslShader.cpp.
bool isATexture ( ) const

Test if this parameter stores a texture.

Returns:
true if this parameter represents a texture, false otherwise.
Examples:
hlslShader.cpp.
bool hasChanged ( const MGeometryList iterator ) const

Has the value of this parameter changed since the last time it was accessed? This allow your shader to minimise state changes by only updating modified parameters.

Parameters:
[in] iterator the current shape being rendered.
Returns:
true if this parameter's value has changed since the last time its value was accessed. false otherwise.
Examples:
hlslShader.cpp.
const float * getAsFloatArray ( const MGeometryList iterator ) const

Get the value of this uniform parameter as one or more floating point values.

Because some parameters can be shape-dependent, the method requires access to the current geometry item being rendered.

Parameters:
[in] iterator the current shape being rendered.
Returns:
The current floating point value of this uniform parameter.
Examples:
hlslShader.cpp.
void setAsFloatArray ( const float *  value,
unsigned int  maxElements 
) const

Set the value of this uniform parameter as one or more floating point values.

Note that it is not possible to set shape-specific parameters.

Parameters:
[in] value a pointer an array of floats holding the new floating point value(s) for this parameter.
[in] maxElements the maximum number of elements in the value array.
Examples:
hlslShader.cpp.
float getAsFloat ( const MGeometryList iterator ) const

Get the value of this uniform parameter as a float.

Because some parameters can be shape-dependent, the method requires access to the current geometry item being rendered.

Parameters:
[in] iterator the current shape being rendered.
Returns:
The current float value of this uniform parameter.
void setAsFloat ( float  value ) const

Set the value of this uniform parameter as a float.

Note that it is not possible to set shape-dependent parameters.

Parameters:
[in] value the new float value for this parameter.
MString getAsString ( const MGeometryList iterator ) const

Get the value of this uniform parameter as a string.

Because some parameters can be shape-dependent, the method requires access to the current geometry item being rendered.

Parameters:
[in] iterator the current shape being rendered.
Returns:
The current string value of this uniform parameter.
Examples:
hlslShader.cpp.
void setAsString ( const MString value ) const

Set the value of this uniform parameter as a string.

Note that it is not possible to set shape-dependent parameters.

Parameters:
[in] value the new string value for this parameter.
Examples:
hlslShader.cpp.
bool getAsBool ( const MGeometryList iterator ) const

Get the value of this uniform parameter as a boolean value.

Because some parameters can be shape-dependent, the method requires access to the current geometry item being rendered.

Parameters:
[in] iterator the current shape being rendered.
Returns:
The current boolean value of this uniform parameter.
Examples:
hlslShader.cpp.
void setAsBool ( bool  value ) const

Set the value of this uniform parameter as a boolean value.

Note that it is not possible to set shape-dependent parameters.

Parameters:
[in] value the new value for this parameter.
Examples:
hlslShader.cpp.
int getAsInt ( const MGeometryList iterator ) const

Get the value of this uniform parameter as an integer.

Because some parameters can be shape-dependent, the method requires access to the current geometry item being rendered.

Parameters:
[in] iterator the current shape being rendered.
Returns:
The current integer value of this uniform parameter.
Examples:
hlslShader.cpp.
void setAsInt ( int  value ) const

Set the value of this uniform parameter as an integer value.

Note that it is not possible to set shape-dependent parameters.

Parameters:
[in] value the new value for this parameter.
Examples:
hlslShader.cpp.
MPlug getSource ( ) const

Get the source plug connected to this parameter.

Other than textures, this will typically be a NULL plug.

Examples:
hlslShader.cpp.
void setDirty ( )

Mark the data for this parameter as dirty.

This will force the parameter to report that it has been changed the next time it is accessed. This allows external events (e.g. device lost, texture management, etc) to force a shader to re-set parameters tied to externally managed resources.

Examples:
hlslShader.cpp.

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