MRenderUtil Class Reference
[OpenMayaRender - API module for rendering]

#include <MRenderUtil.h>

List of all members.


Detailed Description

Common API rendering functions.

MRenderUtil is a class which provides static API methods to access Maya's rendering functionalities.

Public Types

enum  MRenderState {
  kNotRendering, kBatchRender, kInteractiveRender, kIprRender,
  kHardwareRender
}
 Defines the current rendering state of Maya. More...
enum  MRenderPass {
  kAll, kColorOnly, kShadowOnly, kAmbientOnly,
  kDiffuseOnly, kSpecularOnly
}
 Defines the current pass of Maya. More...

Static Public Member Functions

static MRenderState mayaRenderState ()
static MStatus raytrace (const MFloatVector &rayOrigin, const MFloatVector &rayDirection, const void *objectId, const void *raySampler, const short rayDepth, MFloatVector &resultColor, MFloatVector &resultTransparency, const bool isReflectedRays=true)
static MStatus raytrace (const MFloatVectorArray &rayOrigins, const MFloatVectorArray &rayDirections, const void *objectId, const void *raySampler, const short rayDepth, MFloatVectorArray &resultColors, MFloatVectorArray &resultTransparencies, const bool isReflectedRays=true)
static MStatus raytraceFirstGeometryIntersections (const MFloatVectorArray &rayOrigins, const MFloatVectorArray &rayDirections, const void *objectId, const void *raySampler, MFloatVectorArray &resultIntersections, MIntArray &resultIntersected)
static MStatus sampleShadingNetwork (MString shadingNodeName, int numSamples, bool useShadowMaps, bool reuseMaps, MFloatMatrix &cameraMatrix, MFloatPointArray *points, MFloatArray *uCoords, MFloatArray *vCoords, MFloatVectorArray *normals, MFloatPointArray *refPoints, MFloatVectorArray *tangentUs, MFloatVectorArray *tangentVs, MFloatArray *filterSizes, MFloatVectorArray &resultColors, MFloatVectorArray &resultTransparencies)
static bool generatingIprFile ()
static MString relativeFileName (const MString &absFileName, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
static bool exactFileTextureName (const MObject &fileNode, MString &texturePath, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
static bool exactFileTextureName (const MString &baseName, bool useFrameExt, const MString &currentFrameExt, MString &exactName, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
static bool convertPsdFile (const MObject &fileNode, MString &texturePath, const bool &state=false, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 Internal use only.
static bool exactImagePlaneFileName (const MObject &imagePlaneNode, MString &texturePath, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
static MString exactFileTextureName (const MObject &fileNode, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
static MString exactFileTextureName (const MString &baseName, bool useFrameExt, const MString &currentFrameExt, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
static MString convertPsdFile (const MObject &fileNode, const bool &state=false, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
 Internal use only.
static MString exactImagePlaneFileName (const MObject &imagePlaneNode, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
static bool inCurrentRenderLayer (const MDagPath &objectPath, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
static MRenderPass renderPass (void)
static MString mainBeautyPassCustomTokenString ()
static MString mainBeautyPassName ()
static float diffuseReflectance (const void *lightBlindData, const MFloatVector &lightDirection, const MFloatVector &pointCamera, const MFloatVector &normal, bool lightBackFace, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
static MFloatVector maximumSpecularReflection (const void *lightBlindData, const MFloatVector &lightDirection, const MFloatVector &pointCamera, const MFloatVector &normal, const MFloatVector &rayDirection, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
static float lightAttenuation (const void *lightBlindData, const MFloatVector &pointCamera, const MFloatVector &normal, bool lightBackFace, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
static float hemisphereCoverage (const void *lightBlindData, const MFloatVector &lightDirection, const MFloatVector &pointCamera, const MFloatVector &rayDirection, bool lightBackFace, MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL)
static void sendRenderProgressInfo (const MString &pixFile, int percentageDone)
static void getCommonRenderSettings (MCommonRenderSettingsData &rgData)
static MStatus renderObjectItem (const void *objectId, MSelectionList &item)


Member Enumeration Documentation

Defines the current rendering state of Maya.

Enumerator:
kNotRendering  Not rendering.
kBatchRender  Performing a batch render.
kInteractiveRender  Performing an interactive render.
kIprRender  Performing an IPR render.
kHardwareRender  Performing a hardware render.

Defines the current pass of Maya.

Enumerator:
kAll  Default case, compute everything.
kColorOnly  Compute only color information, no shadows.
kShadowOnly  Compute only shadow information, no color.
kAmbientOnly  Compute only ambient information.
kDiffuseOnly  Compute only diffuse information.
kSpecularOnly  Compute only specular information.


Member Function Documentation

MRenderUtil::MRenderState MRenderUtil::mayaRenderState (  )  [static]

Returns an enumerated type specifying the current state of the Maya renderer.

Returns:

MStatus MRenderUtil::raytrace ( const MFloatVector rayOrigin,
const MFloatVector rayDirection,
const void *  notUsed,
const void *  raySampler,
const short  rayDepth,
MFloatVector resultColor,
MFloatVector resultTransparency,
const bool  isReflectedRays = true 
) [static]

This utility method provides functionality to raytrace from within a shader plug-in.

This method shoots a single ray given a ray origin and a ray direction, and returns the color and transparency of the result.

In order for a shader plug-in to raytrace, the following steps are necessary:

raySampler is needed from the renderer. This can be obtained by creating an input attribute named 'raySampler' (rtr).

rayDepth is needed from the renderer. This can be obtained by creating an input attribute named 'rayDepth' (rd).

The "Enable Raytracing" flag needs to be turned on in renderGlobal-> renderQuality->raytracing.

isReflectedRays tells if these rays are for reflection or refraction. This allows the raytracer to check the corresponding ray depth limit under renderGlobal->renderQuality for terminating the rays.

All objects to be seen by the raytracer need to have their "Visible In Reflections" or "Visible In Refraction" flags turned on.

This method only works in the software renderer.

Parameters:
[in] rayOrigin Origin of the ray to shoot from in camera space
[in] rayDirection Direction of the ray to shoot at in camera space
[in] notUsed unused argument left for compatibility
[in] raySampler Pointer to the raytracer from the renderer
[in] rayDepth Current ray depth from the renderer
[in] resultColor Storage for the result color
[in] resultTransparency Storage for the result transparency
[in] isReflectedRays true for reflected rays (default), false for refracted rays
Returns:
Status Code
Examples:

MStatus MRenderUtil::raytrace ( const MFloatVectorArray rayOrigins,
const MFloatVectorArray rayDirections,
const void *  notUsed,
const void *  raySampler,
const short  rayDepth,
MFloatVectorArray resultColors,
MFloatVectorArray resultTransparencies,
const bool  isReflectedRays = true 
) [static]

This utility method provides functionality to raytrace from within a shader plug-in.

This method shoots a number of rays given ray origins and ray directions, and returns the colors and transparencies of the results.

The size of rayOrigins, rayDirections, colors, and transparencies arrays must be the same.

In order for a shader plug-in to raytrace, the following steps are necessary:

raySampler is needed from the renderer. This can be obtained by creating an input attribute named 'raySampler' (rtr).

rayDepth is needed from the renderer. This can be obtained by creating an input attribute named 'rayDepth' (rd).

The "Enable Raytracing" flag needs to be turned on in renderGlobal-> renderQuality->raytracing.

isReflectedRays tells if these rays are for reflection or refraction. This allows the raytracer to check the corresponding ray depth limit under renderGlobal->renderQuality for terminating the rays.

All objects to be seen by the raytracer need to have their "Visible In Reflections" or "Visible In Refraction" flags turned on.

This method only works in the software renderer.

Parameters:
[in] rayOrigins Origins of the ray to shoot from in camera space
[in] rayDirections Directions of the ray to shoot at in camera space
[in] notUsed unused argument left for compatability
[in] raySampler Pointer to the raytracer from the renderer
[in] rayDepth Current ray depth from the renderer
[in] resultColors Storage for the result colors
[in] resultTransparencies Storage for the result transparencies
[in] isReflectedRays true for reflected rays (default), false for refracted rays
Returns:
Status Code

MStatus MRenderUtil::raytraceFirstGeometryIntersections ( const MFloatVectorArray rayOrigins,
const MFloatVectorArray rayDirections,
const void *  notUsed,
const void *  raySampler,
MFloatVectorArray resultIntersections,
MIntArray resultIntersected 
) [static]

This utility method provides functionality to find the location of the first geometry intersected by a ray from within a shader plug-in.

This method shoots a number of rays given ray origins and ray directions, and returns whether the rays intersected anything, and if so, the locations of the first geometry intersected in camera space. The plug-in should check the resultIntersected values to see if a ray has intersected any geometry (0 = no geometry intersected, 1 = geometry intersected).

The size of rayOrigins, rayDirections, resultIntersections, and resultIntersected arrays must be the same.

In order for a shader plug-in to raytrace, the following steps are necessary:

raySampler is needed from the renderer. This can be obtained by creating an input attribute named 'raySampler' (rtr).

The "Enable Raytracing" flag needs to be turned on in renderGlobal-> renderQuality->raytracing.

All objects to be seen by the raytracer need to have their "Visible In Reflections" flags turned on.

This method only works in the software renderer.

Parameters:
[in] rayOrigins Origins of the ray to shoot from in camera space
[in] rayDirections Directions of the ray to shoot at in camera space
[in] notUsed unused argument left for compatability
[in] raySampler Pointer to the raytracer from the renderer
[in] resultIntersections Storage for the result intersection locations in camera space
[in] resultIntersected Storage for the result intersected flags (0 = no geometry intersected, 1 = geometry intersected)
Returns:
Status Code

MStatus MRenderUtil::sampleShadingNetwork ( MString  shadingNodeName,
int  numSamples,
bool  useShadowMaps,
bool  reuseMaps,
MFloatMatrix cameraMatrix,
MFloatPointArray points,
MFloatArray uCoords,
MFloatArray vCoords,
MFloatVectorArray normals,
MFloatPointArray refPoints,
MFloatVectorArray tangentUs,
MFloatVectorArray tangentVs,
MFloatArray filterSizes,
MFloatVectorArray resultColors,
MFloatVectorArray resultTransparencies 
) [static]

This utility method allows you to sample a shading node/shading engine. You can specify the location and property of the sample point, and the method will return the result color and transparency. If you are sampling a shading engine, and there are lights in the scene, you can optionally request shadows to be computed as well.

If you specify a shading node to be evaluated, you'll need to provide the attribute to be evaluated. For example, valid shading nodes are checker1.outAlpha, file1.outColor, etc.

If you specify a shading engine to be evaluated, only the name will be needed. For example, valid shading engines are initialShadingGroup, phong1SG, etc.

Since setting up sampling is an expensive operation, try to pass in as many sample points at one time as possible and let the sampler process them in batch. Try to avoid calling the sampler with just one sample.

For extremely complicated shading networks, it is possible that passing in too many samples in one batch will cause a stack overflow. If this condition occurs, simply reduce the number of samples per batch.

Certain type of shading network requires certain type of input, and not all inputs are needed. For example, a 2D texture such as file or checker does not need point/normal/tangent information. Pass in NULL for parameters which are not needed.

In general, 2D textures require UV coordinates, 3D textures require points and refPoints, lighting calculations require points and normals.

To calculate camera space related shaders, such as hilights in a phong shader, an eye to world matrix needs to be supplied. This matrix is used to convert supplied world coordinates into camera coordinate. The matrix can be obtained by getting the inclusive matrix of the camera's DAG node.

This method can be used in both interactive and batch.

Parameters:
[in] shadingNodeName Name of the shading node/shading engine
[in] numSamples Number of samples to be calculated
[in] useShadowMaps Whether to calculate shadows
[in] reuseMaps If calculating shadows, whether to reuse shadowmaps
[in] cameraMatrix The eyeToWorld matrix to be used for conversion
[in] points Locations to be sampled in world space
[in] uCoords U coordinates of the samples
[in] vCoords V coordinates of the samples
[in] normals Normals at the sample points in world space
[in] refPoints RefPoints to be used for 3D texture in world space
[in] tangentUs U tangents at the sample points in world space
[in] tangentVs V tangents at the sample points in world space
[in] filterSizes Filter sizes to be used for 2D/3D textures
[in] resultColors Storage for result colors
[in] resultTransparencies storage for result transparencies
Returns:
Status Code
  • MS::kSuccess Return is valid
  • MS::kNoModelActive Unable to get the active model
  • MS::kObjectDoesNotExist Unable to find the specified shadingNodeName
  • MS::kInvalidDataType Specified node is not a shading engine
  • MS::kFailure Failed to sample the given shading network
Examples:

bool MRenderUtil::generatingIprFile (  )  [static]

Returns true if an IPR file is being created. This can be used to optimize the IPR file. Lights do not need to request particle information (IPR does not support particle rendering) when creating a IPR file.

Returns:
true if IPR file is being generated, false otherwise.

MString MRenderUtil::relativeFileName ( const MString absFileName,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) [static]

Extract relative file name from the given (absolute) file name. If the given file name does not begin with a project root, return value is same as the input file name.

Parameters:
[in] absFileName input file name
[out] ReturnStatus status code
Returns:
  • file name without the project path
Status Codes:

bool MRenderUtil::exactFileTextureName ( const MObject fileNode,
MString texturePath,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) [static]

Attempts to resolve the file texture name specified on a file texture node into an absolute path to an image file on disk. The function applies exactly the same logic that is used by the file texture node internally for resolving the image file path.

Python Notes:
This method is not supported in Python. See the version which returns a string.

Parameters:
[in] fileNode a file texture node
[out] texturePath returns an absolute pathname to the texture file referenced by the node.
[out] ReturnStatus status code
Returns:
true if the image file pathname was successfully resolved, false otherwise.
Status Codes:

bool MRenderUtil::exactFileTextureName ( const MString baseName,
bool  useFrameExt,
const MString currentFrameExt,
MString exactName,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) [static]

Attempts to resolve the file name specified into an absolute path to a file on disk. The function applies exactly the same logic that is used by the file texture node internally for resolving the image file path.

Python Notes:
This method is not supported in Python. See the version which returns a string.

Parameters:
[in] baseName a file name to be resolved
[in] useFrameExt use frame extension for image file name
[in] currentFrameExt specify a frame extension if useFrameExt is used.
[out] exactName resolved file name with absolute path
[out] ReturnStatus status code
Returns:
  • true if the file pathname was successfully resolved.
  • false if the pathname could not be resolved.
Status Codes:

bool MRenderUtil::convertPsdFile ( const MObject fileNode,
MString texturePath,
const bool &  state = false,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) [static]

Internal use only.

This method converts a Psd file texture to an IFF file that can be used by Maya. It writes out the current layer set image the file node. The intermediate image will be either 8 or 16 b.p.c, based on the input psd file.

Python Notes:
This method is not supported in Python. See the version which returns a string.

Parameters:
[in] fileNode a file texture node
[out] texturePath returns an absolute pathname to the texture file referenced by the node.
[out] ReturnStatus status code
Returns:
  • true if the image file pathname was successfully resolved and exporting psd file is succeeded.
  • false if the pathname could not be resolved or exporting psd file fails.
Status Codes:

bool MRenderUtil::exactImagePlaneFileName ( const MObject imagePlaneNode,
MString texturePath,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) [static]

Attempts to resolve the file texture name specified on an image plane node into an absolute path to an image file on disk. The function applies exactly the same logic that is used by the image plane node internally for resolving the image file path.

Python Notes:
This method is not supported in Python. See the version which returns a string.

Parameters:
[in] imagePlaneNode an image plane node
[out] texturePath returns an absolute pathname to the texture file referenced by the node.
[out] ReturnStatus status code
Returns:
  • true if the image file pathname was successfully resolved.
  • false if the pathname could not be resolved.
Status Codes:

MString MRenderUtil::exactFileTextureName ( const MObject fileNode,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) [static]

Attempts to resolve the file texture name specified on a file texture node into an absolute path to an image file on disk. The function applies exactly the same logic that is used by the file texture node internally for resolving the image file path.

Parameters:
[in] fileNode a file texture node
[out] ReturnStatus status code
Returns:
An absolute pathname to the texture file referenced by the node. If the path cannot be resolved than an empty string is returned
Status Codes:

MString MRenderUtil::exactFileTextureName ( const MString baseName,
bool  useFrameExt,
const MString currentFrameExt,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) [static]

Attempts to resolve the file name specified into an absolute path to a file on disk. The function applies exactly the same logic that is used by the file texture node internally for resolving the image file path.

Parameters:
[in] baseName a file name to be resolved
[in] useFrameExt use frame extension for image file name
[in] currentFrameExt specify a frame extension if useFrameExt is used.
[out] ReturnStatus status code
Returns:
  • true if the file pathname was successfully resolved.
  • false if the pathname could not be resolved.
Status Codes:

MString MRenderUtil::convertPsdFile ( const MObject fileNode,
const bool &  state = false,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) [static]

Internal use only.

This method converts a Psd file texture to an IFF file that can be used by Maya. It writes out the current layer set image the file node. The intermediate image will be either 8 or 16 b.p.c, based on the input psd file.

Parameters:
[in] fileNode a file texture node
[out] ReturnStatus status code
Returns:
  • true if the image file pathname was successfully resolved and exporting psd file is succeeded.
  • false if the pathname could not be resolved or exporting psd file fails.
Status Codes:

MString MRenderUtil::exactImagePlaneFileName ( const MObject imagePlaneNode,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) [static]

Attempts to resolve the file texture name specified on an image plane node into an absolute path to an image file on disk. The function applies exactly the same logic that is used by the image plane node internally for resolving the image file path.

Parameters:
[in] imagePlaneNode an image plane node
[out] ReturnStatus status code
Returns:
An absolute pathname to the texture file referenced by the node. If the pathname cannot be resolved, then the returned string is empty
Status Codes:

bool MRenderUtil::inCurrentRenderLayer ( const MDagPath objectPath,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) [static]

Returns true if the specified path is in the current render layer.

If the object at the end of the DAG path has not been assigned to any layer, then each node in hierarchy from bottom up will be tested whether its contained in the current render layer.

Parameters:
[in] objectPath Path of object to test
[out] ReturnStatus Status code
Returns:
true if the object is in the current render layer.
Status Codes:

MRenderUtil::MRenderPass MRenderUtil::renderPass ( void   )  [static]

Returns an enumerated type specifying the current pass the Maya renderer is executing.

Returns:

MString MRenderUtil::mainBeautyPassCustomTokenString (  )  [static]

Returns the custom token string of the main beauty pass for use by renderers in file naming.

Returns:
The custom token string for the main beauty pass

MString MRenderUtil::mainBeautyPassName (  )  [static]

Returns the name of the main beauty pass for use by renderers for token substitution.

Returns:
The name of the main beauty pass

float MRenderUtil::diffuseReflectance ( const void *  lightBlindData,
const MFloatVector lightDirection,
const MFloatVector pointCamera,
const MFloatVector normal,
bool  lightBackFace,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) [static]

This utility function computes and returns the diffuse or lambertian reflectance for a given light source and surface.

Parameters:
[in] lightBlindData The reference to the aLightBlindData attribute of the current light being evaluated
[in] lightDirection The direction of the light being evaluated
[in] pointCamera The position of the camera
[in] normal The surface normal
[in] lightBackFace Is the back face being lit, true or false.
[out] ReturnStatus Status code
Examples:

MFloatVector MRenderUtil::maximumSpecularReflection ( const void *  lightBlindData,
const MFloatVector lightDirection,
const MFloatVector pointCamera,
const MFloatVector normal,
const MFloatVector rayDirection,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) [static]

This utility function computes and returns the vector corresponding to the point on the light source that provides the maximum specular reflection.

Parameters:
[in] lightBlindData The reference to the aLightBlindData attribute of the current light being evaluated
[in] lightDirection The direction of the light being evaluated
[in] pointCamera The position of the camera
[in] normal The surface normal
[in] rayDirection The direction of the current intersection ray in camera space
[out] ReturnStatus Status code
Examples:

float MRenderUtil::lightAttenuation ( const void *  lightBlindData,
const MFloatVector pointCamera,
const MFloatVector normal,
bool  lightBackFace,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) [static]

This utility function computes and returns light attentuation factor of a light. Note that the result of 1 will be returned if the light being evaluated does not support light attentuation.

Parameters:
[in] lightBlindData The reference to the aLightBlindData attribute of the current light being evaluated
[in] pointCamera The position of the camera
[in] normal The surface normal
[in] lightBackFace Is the back face being lit, true or false.
[out] ReturnStatus Status code
Examples:

float MRenderUtil::hemisphereCoverage ( const void *  lightBlindData,
const MFloatVector lightDirection,
const MFloatVector pointCamera,
const MFloatVector rayDirection,
bool  lightBackFace,
MStatus ReturnStatus = NULL 
) [static]

This utility function computes and returns the fraction of the light that is transmitted by an object. It is mostly used for translucence and scattering effects.

Parameters:
[in] lightBlindData The reference to the aLightBlindData attribute of the current light being evaluated
[in] lightDirection The direction of the light being evaluated
[in] pointCamera The position of the camera
[in] rayDirection The direction of the current intersection ray in camera space
[in] lightBackFace Is the back face being lit, true or false.
[out] ReturnStatus Status code

void MRenderUtil::sendRenderProgressInfo ( const MString pixFile,
int  percentageDone 
) [static]

This utility function sends batch rendering status to Maya

Parameters:
[in] pixFile File name of the last rendered batch image
[in] percentageDone percentage rendered

void MRenderUtil::getCommonRenderSettings ( MCommonRenderSettingsData mrgData  )  [static]

Fill the set of common render setting values

MStatus MRenderUtil::renderObjectItem ( const void *  objectId,
MSelectionList item 
) [static]

Procedure to look up a selection item for a given sample object id. This is only guaranteed to work when software rendering. As multiple processors may be used when software rendering; a critical section should be used to protect multiple threads from simulaneously performing DG evaluation. This includes querying attribute values.

Parameters:
[in] objectId The sample object id to look-up
[in] item The corresponding item for the id
Returns:
Status Code


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