.. currentmodule:: bana .. _overview: Overview ======== The Maya's Python API is often a good choice over the commands layer whenever performances and robustness are valued. But because of its overall poor design, it is not uncommon that some *fundamental* functionalities are **lacking** out of the box and/or require too much **boilerplate** to get rolling. Other gotchas to be expected include methods that became too **daunting** to use after porting in the *worst* possible way the API from C++ to Python, **undocumented** behaviours of certain features where error trialing is everything that is left, and methods **throwing** an exception when returning ``None`` would have been more appropriate. Bana aims at reducing these shortcomings to provide a more *friendly*, *predictable*, and *efficient* developing environment. Using the monkey patching package |gorilla|_, new methods prefixed with ``bn`` are inserted within some classes from the ``maya.OpenMaya*`` modules, thus extending their functionalities while making these new methods feel as if they were built-in into Maya. Since performances are a primary reason for using the API, a set of benchmarks built with the help of the package |revl|_ helps to ensure that these extensions remain as fast as possible. .. note:: Bana extends on Maya's Python API 1.0 rather than 2.0 because the latter version seems to be still incomplete. That being said, it is encouraged to use the API 2.0 whenever possible since it provides a much more Pythonic interface with increased performances. .. note:: Bana does *not* aim at making the API more Pythonic. This could in some cases impact the performances, which goes against Bana's goal of keeping things fast. Features -------- * easy retrieval of nodes from the scene. * robust and predictable specification for pattern matching with wildcards. * abstract away the usage of the ``maya.OpenMaya.MScriptUtil`` class. * performances as a top priority. Usage ----- .. code-block:: python >>> import bana >>> bana.initialize() >>> from maya import OpenMaya >>> # Retrieve a transform node named 'root'. >>> root = OpenMaya.MFnTransform.bnGet(pattern='*|root') >>> # Recursively iterate over all the DAG nodes child of 'root'. >>> for node in root.bnFindChildren(): ... print(node) >>> # Find all the mesh nodes in the scene containing the word 'Shape' but ... # not belonging to any namespace. >>> for node in OpenMaya.MFnMesh.bnFind(pattern='*|*Shape*'): ... print(node) .. seealso:: The :ref:`tutorial` section for more detailed examples and explanations on how to use Bana. .. |gorilla| replace:: ``gorilla`` .. |revl| replace:: ``revl`` .. _gorilla: https://github.com/christophercrouzet/gorilla .. _revl: https://github.com/christophercrouzet/revl