> I'm also one of the fence-sitters. > In the meantime, I've been learning Python. > This might be a stupid question, but what advantages does Pymel offer > over Python?
just to be clear, PyMEL is not an alternative to "python", it's a python package that builds on the maya package, and thus is an alternative to maya's native maya package. this questions has been asked a number of times on this list. here are some previous responses. others might feel inclined to jump in with some more insight: http://groups.google.com/group/python_inside_maya/browse_thread/thread/4e57855e72a78ffa/87d8a9fca7434410?hl=en_US&lnk=gst&q=pymel#87d8a9fca7434410 http://groups.google.com/group/python_inside_maya/browse_thread/thread/4eac79f7c2a0fdad/043e0d10b17a9149?hl=en_US&lnk=gst&q=pymel#043e0d10b17a9149 i also think the comparison on our home page goes a long way toward demonstrating the benefits: http://code.google.com/p/pymel/ To summarize: object oriented code tons of utilities you'll likely end up having to write yourself otherwise: python-to-mel and mel-to-python glue, including a mel-to-python translator, and a python-to-mel translator api utilities version comparison object name parsing callbacks makes using python from command line work the same as in the gui data classes math: vectors, matrices, etc paths: object-oriented file/path manipulation frequent bug fixes and point releases, including fixes to maya's own code user-friendly docstrings for all classes and commands: ie. the python help() command actually serves a purpose intuitive to write bells and whistles proper exception classes use of python "with" statement to simplify ui building support for python attribute editor templates the list goes on and on. look, i'll be honest with you: maya's python implementation is an abysmal failure, and it's getting better at a snail's pace. pymel works the way that a python package should and it will save you a lot of time. -chad -- http://groups.google.com/group/python_inside_maya
