Complete Maya Programming: An Extensive Guide to MEL and C++ API (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics) [Paperback]

David Gould (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics | Publication Date: January 2, 2003

Learning Maya, the world's leading 3D animation and effects package, is a challenge, especially for those who want to master Maya's versatile programming features in addition to its built-in tools.

Finally, here is a practical, step-by-step guide that shows how to use Maya to its fullest potential, beginning with the basics. Readers of Complete Maya Programming will first gain a thorough understanding of Maya's inner workings, and then learn how to customize and extend Maya with scripts and plugins that take control and productivity to new levels.

Users new to programming can apply Maya's easy scripting language MEL (Maya Embedded Language), while more advanced users can work with the C++ API (Application Progamming Interface). Both a fundamental tutorial for Maya beginners and a solid reference for experienced developers, Complete Maya Programming is every user's guide to Maya mastery.

* Provides a multitude of real-world examples illustrating applications of Maya programming.
* Demonstrates how to use MEL to control Maya, customize its interface, automate procedures, and more
* Details how to use the C++ API to modify Maya functionality and develop tools and features to meet any need
* Explains when to use MEL, when to use the C++ API, and how to use them together
* Ideal for technical directors, developers, or anyone wishing to to master Maya
* Provides a storehouse of MEL scripts and C++ source code, glossary, and list of resources, available at www.davidgould.com

Editorial Reviews

Review

"David's book is an excellent learning tool and reference for novice and veteran Maya developers alike. Maya developers can become more productive with MEL and the Maya API by applying what they learn from this book." -Tracy Narine, Maya API Technical Lead, Alias
"David Gould is an expert at using, programming, and teaching Maya, and it shows. People who need to program Maya will find this book essential. Even Maya users who don't intend to do extensive programming should read this book for a better understanding of what's going on under the hood. Compact yet thorough, it covers both MEL and the C++ API, and is written to be informative for both novice and expert programmers. Highly recommended!" -Larry Gritz, Exluna/NVIDIA, co-author of Advanced RenderMan
"This book should be required reading for all Maya programmers, novice and expert alike. For the novice, it provides a thorough and wonderfully well thought-out hands-on tutorial and introduction to Maya. The book's greatest contribution, however, is that in it David shares his deep understanding of Maya's fundamental concepts and architecture, so that even the expert can learn to more effectively exploit Maya's rich and powerful programming interfaces." -Philip J. Schneider, Disney Feature Animation, co-author of Geometric Tools for Computer Graphics
"Having provided a technical review of David Gould's Complete Maya Programming, I must say that this book is the definitive text for scripting and plug-in development for Maya. Never before has there been such a concise and clearly written guide to programming for Maya. Any user smart enough to pick up this book would be better off for it." -Chris Rock, technical director at "a Large Animation Studio in Northern California"
"If you ever wanted to open the Maya toolbox, this is your guide. With clear step-by-step instructions, you will soon be able to customize and improve the application, as well as create your own extensions, either through the MEL scripting language or the full C++ API." -Christophe Hery, Industrial Light & Magic

From the Back Cover

"David Gould is an expert at using, programming, and teaching Maya, and it shows. People who need to program Maya will find this book essential. Even Maya users who don't intend to do extensive programming should read this book for a better understanding of what's going on under the hood. Compact yet thorough, it covers both MEL and the C++ API, and is written to be informative for both novice and expert programmers. Highly recommended!"
-Larry Gritz, Exluna/NVIDIA, co-author of Advanced RenderMan: Creating CGI for Motion Pictures

"This book should be required reading for all Maya programmers, novice and expert alike. For the novice, it provides a thorough and wonderfully well thought-out hands-on tutorial and introduction to Maya. The book's greatest contribution, however, is that in it David shares his deep understanding of Maya's fundamental concepts and architecture, so that even the expert can learn to more effectively exploit Maya's rich and powerful programming interfaces."
-Philip J. Schneider, Disney Feature Animation, co-author of Geometric Tools for Computer Graphics

"Having provided a technical review of David Gould's Complete Maya Programming, I must say that this book is the definitive text for scripting and plug-in development for Maya. Never before has there been such a concise and clearly written guide to programming for Maya. Any user smart enough to pick up this book would be better off for it."
-Chris Rock, a Technical Director at "a Large Animation Studio in Northern California"

"If you ever wanted to open the Maya toolbox, this is your guide. With clear step-by-step instructions, you will soon be able to customize and improve the application, as well as create your own extensions, either through the MEL scripting language or the full C++ API."
-Christophe Hery, Industrial Light & Magic

Learning Maya, the world's leading 3D animation and effects package, is a challenge, especially for those who want to master Maya's versatile programming features in addition to its built-in tools.

Finally, here is a practical, step-by-step guide that shows how to use Maya to its fullest potential, beginning with the basics. Readers of Complete Maya Programming will first gain a thorough understanding of Maya's inner workings, and then learn how to customize and extend Maya with scripts and plugins that take control and productivity to new levels.

Users new to programming can apply Maya's easy scripting language MEL (Maya Embedded Language), while more advanced users can work with the C++ API (Application Progamming Interface). Both a fundamental tutorial for Maya beginners and a solid reference for experienced developers, Complete Maya Programming is every user's guide to Maya mastery.

FEATURES:
*Demonstrates how to use MEL to control Maya, customize its interface, automate procedures, and more
*Details how to use the C++ API to modify Maya functionality and develop tools and features to meet any need
*Explains when to use MEL, when to use the C++ API, and how to use them together
*Provides a multitude of real-world examples illustrating applications of Maya programming
*Ideal for technical directors, developers, or anyone wishing to master Maya
*Provides a storehouse of MEL scripts and C++ source code, glossary, and list of resources, available at www.davidgould.com

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann; 1 edition (January 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558608354
• ISBN-13: 978-1558608351
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #550,976 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Complete Maya Programming, December 2, 2006

By 

J. Onandi "iq" (Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Complete Maya Programming: An Extensive Guide to MEL and C++ API (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics) (Paperback)

You can indeed learn more by pressing F1 on Maya itself. The C++ API part (the one I was interested in) is really short and the examples rather simple (you can read it all in few hours).

The book is ok, but should be called "Very Basic Introduction to MEL and C++ API" and not "An extensive guide to MEL and C++ API" at all.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magically morphs other begginer's Maya books into doorstops, August 2, 2003

By 

Baruch (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Maya Programming: An Extensive Guide to MEL and C++ API (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics) (Paperback)

I learned more from the first chapter of this book than from all of 'Maya Fundamentals' or 'Maya Character Animation'. If your a begginer planning on getting serious with Maya I'd recommend going through the 10 or so tutorials that come with Maya and THEN pick this book up (don't waste money on begginer's books). It elegantly expounds the real fundamentals of Maya - the fundamentals that you must know in order to really uderstand the program. Don't expect to be dazzled with the examples. This book will provide essential understanding of the most important principles of Maya - not tell you how to model or animate. After reading this small book you should be able to pick up any book that assumes technical knowledge and focuses on artistic methods of modeling, animation, texturing etc. to learn how to be a true Maya artist.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crisp, Clear and almost Complete, January 14, 2003

By 

Kolja Erman (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Maya Programming: An Extensive Guide to MEL and C++ API (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics) (Paperback)

Finally a decent documentation for Maya MEL/API programmers. Maya's own manuals are comparably lousy and the meager information available to newbies has to be verified and expanded during years of tedious trial and error programming. Most people simply follow in the footsteps of senior programmer colleagues who had to figure everything out for themselves and thus help propagate a culture of continuously reinforced bad code writing habits that do not make effective use of the full range of available tools. Especially the chapters on MEL and Expression writing are simple, clearly structured and easy to understand. The same can be said for the chapters on the Maya API, however, while the MEL and Expression sections do indeed warrant the use of the word Complete in the book's title the API section does not. I would have hoped for more information about some of the more exotic node types such as Shaders or Tool Contexts etc... This is where the Maya manuals fall short and where the book could have jumped in. However, with the book clarifying most fundamental aspects and structures of the API that missing information can be worked out by a skilled programmer. I'm glad I purchased this book and it will serve me well as a reference manual for both MEL and the API. Note to beginners: this book is not a fullblown tutorial but seems to be halfway between a tutorial and a reference manual. However, I've barely received my copy and I'm already considering it indispensible. My thanks to Mr. Gould!