How to use vcc compiled shaders

[haggi]

I have written some shaders as text and saved them in vfl files. Then I compile them into a otl files called shaders.otl.

Now I want to use these shaders in a mantra ifd file for rendering, but I'm unsure how to use them. I added a path to the otl in the ifd file:

ray_loadotl c:/mantra/project/shaders/shaders.otl

Then later in the ifd file, I try to use the shader like this:

ray_start object
ray_transform  17.980289 0 0 0 0 17.980289 0 0 0 0 17.980289 0 0 0 0 1
ray_geometry /meshes/plane
ray_property object surface simpleLambert_surface
ray_property object name "plane"
ray_end

Of course this does not work, I get an error:

mantra: VEX error: Unable to open simpleLambert_surface.vex        Path not found
mantra: VEX error: Unable to load simpleLambert_surface    Path not found

I think I'm not familiar enough with the correct implementation of shaders and surfaces in houdini, so any hint how I can make my shader work or whre I can find more information would be appreciated.

I was able to import my otl into mantra as new library. There I can create a new shop/surface node and there it appears in "digtal assets". If I then create a shop node, I can assign and render from within houdini and the result looks promising. But I'd like to avoid this procedure if possible and use the shader directly in the ifd file.

[123456]

how to use .ds file ?