why SDK C++ in the first place?

[catchyid]

hey guys, this is a silly question for some of you I know  I am a C++ programmer in the first place and I use Houdini as an Artist, however, it's been like 6 years now and I can do almost every thing in either vex and python (my job is to create FX using existing solvers). Can you give me some use-cases where someone needs to write C++ code? The only use-case in mind is integrating with third party applications (e.g. data translators), are there any other use-cases?

 

Thx

[Stalkerx777]

Yeah you pretty much answered your own question, VEX can do A LOT these days. It wasn't that far ago when it could only iterate over points and that was it. Now you have vertex, primitive, detail, volume iteration. Wrangle SOPs also didn't exist then.

These days, C++ operators are used primarily for proprietary studio data exchange. Over more than a decade, we at Imageworks wrote hundreds of custom DSOs for Houdini, many of which we still support out of necessity and artist habits, but we haven't written a single new C++ operator for the last ~5 years I think. One thing that you still C++ for is multidimensional sparse matrices for some advanced solver hackery, which are lacking in VEX.

[catchyid]

PERFECT thaaanks alot Alex, at least I can confirm now I am not missing something here

[ddade]

There might also be a critical third-party library that exists only in C++, such that marrying it with Python is impractical.