Introducing the Components of the SDK

 
 
 

The kind of development you decide to do depends largely on what you need to accomplish and what you are capable of doing, so it's really an individual decision. For example, you may be a C++ programmer who is interested in creating a compiled plug-in for Autodesk Softimage; or you may be a technical director who just needs to automate some repetitive tasks.

Language-specific APIs

Softimage's SDK can accommodate both types of users, since it provides support for both C++ programmers and script authors. The SDK consists of these APIs:

For more information on these APIs, see Understanding the Softimage SDK Architecture.

Note

In previous releases of Softimage, the object model could also be used with the COM (Component Object Model) Compiler to create compiled ActiveX plug-ins. However, it is now strongly recommended to use either C# or the C++ API to create compiled plug-ins.

File Conversion Tools

In addition, the dotXSI file format provides a text-based file conversion format which comes with its own API, the Crosswalk SDK. Together, these features allow you to import and export information between Softimage and another 3D animation package or a game engine.

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