Shader definitions can be instantiated with the CreateShaderFromProgID command and connected with the SIConnectShaderToCnxPoint command. The ShaderDef.ProgID or ShaderDef::GetProgID uniquely identifies the shader definition in Softimage using four components:

"ParserName.ClassName.MajorVersion.MinorVersion"

• Parser Name—This is the name of the parser or plug-in that implemented the shader definition. Depending on how the shader definition was created, the parser name comes from one of the following sources:

  Shader Definition Source	Parser Name	Description
  Softimage native shader definitions built from SPDL files	Softimage	Name of native SPDL parser. For example, the Phong's ProgID is "Softimage.material-phong.1.0" and the Cloud texture's is "Softimage.txt3d-cloud.1.0".
  Softimage-provided Realtime shader definitions	CgFXParser	Name of parser for .cgfx files provided by Softimage. For example, the ProgID of the shader definition generated from the ThinFilm.cgfx file is "CgFXParser.ThinFilm.1.0".	HLSLParser	Name of parser for .fx files provided by Softimage. For example, the ProgID of the shader definition generated from the cage.fx file is "HLSLParser.cage.1.0".
  	Shader definitions built from a custom shader definition plug-in	<plug-in_name>	Name used to register the plug-in via SIObject.Name or SIObject::PutName (in the XSLLoadPlugin callback). For example, the ProgID of the MyShaderDefName shader definition registered in the MyPluginName plug-in is "MyPluginName.MyShaderDefName.1.5". Note This is the name of the plug-in that implements the shader definition, not the name of the shader definition itself.
  Shader definitions built from custom file formats parsed by a custom shader parser plug-in.	<parser_name>	Name used to register the shader parser via PluginRegistrar.RegisterShaderLanguageParser or PluginRegistrar::RegisterShaderLanguageParser (in the XSILoadPlugin callback). For example, the ProgID of the shader definition read from a parseable file and created in the ParseInfo callback is "MyParserName.MyDefParsedFromFile.2.0".

• Class Name—For shader definition plug-ins, this is the name used to register the shader definition via PluginRegistrar.RegisterShader or PluginRegistrar::RegisterShader (in the XSLLoadPlugin callback).

• Major Version Number—This is the major portion of this shader definition's version number. For example, 2 is the major portion of version 2.6.

• Minor Version Number—This is the minor portion of this shader definition's version number. For example, 6 is the minor portion of version 2.6.