python script question

[itriix]

Hey everyone,

I'm writing a python script that will do a few different things:

essentially, it will create a number of file nodes, based on how many .bgeos are in a sequence. then it will merge all of the file nodes together....

well the issue i'm having is trying to READ in and navigate within the houdini python shell.

example:

in a folder on my harddrive i have a sequence of bgeos... girl.1.bgeo, girl.2.bgeo... etc....

from python shell, how can i read in the sequence containing the name girl.$F.bgeo... essentially,

and THEN, find out which one has the largest number... *the last one in the sequence.*

i will use this number in my script to decide how many file nodes to create.... yes i know i can do all this just by looking in the folder myself and setting the number in my script manually however that defeats the purpose, plus im just curious how to navigate python

appreciate everyones thoughts

J

[mic]

to browse files and change directory to your path you should use 'os' module, for example,

import os
path =os.getcwd()
a = os.listdir(path)

prints to a all files in your current work directory ( python path by default )

to change directory use os.chdir() method.

and

import glob
b = glob.glob('*.bgeo')

will create the array with all your .bgeo files

len(b)

gives you the number of your files.

[itriix]

that's fantastic thanks!

just for my own knowledge, what if the folder that had all the bgeos, had different kinds, such as:

girl.1.bgeo, girl.2.bgeo, wildman.1.bgeo, wildman.1.bgeo...

if all i wanted were the girl bgeos... how do i do that?

in your example:

import glob
b = glob.glob('*.bgeo')

could i do:

import glob
b = glob.glob('girl.*.bgeo')

to browse files and change directory to your path you should use 'os' module, for example,

import os
path =os.getcwd()
a = os.listdir(path)

prints to a all files in your current work directory ( python path by default )

to change directory use os.chdir() method.

and

import glob
b = glob.glob('*.bgeo')

will create the array with all your .bgeo files

len(b)

gives you the number of your files.

[mic]

that's fantastic thanks!

just for my own knowledge, what if the folder that had all the bgeos, had different kinds, such as:

girl.1.bgeo, girl.2.bgeo, wildman.1.bgeo, wildman.1.bgeo...

if all i wanted were the girl bgeos... how do i do that?

in your example:

import glob
b = glob.glob('*.bgeo')

could i do:

import glob
b = glob.glob('girl.*.bgeo')

hmm, yes of course, check it=)

[itriix]

true! so i just checked it... len( is returning 0

so i tried to see what the os.getcwd() was getting, and it looks as though it's getting the root level of my computer directory... just a /

but my hip directory is at a different location. i checked my environment variable for $HIP and it's in the correct location... a long path name

any ideas how to get my $HIP directory to be used?

Thanks again. currently still a little new to the combo of python and houdini. there's been a few things that just don't seem as intuitive as i'm used to doing

[itriix]

just reread what you wrote...

didn't see the os.chdir() method earlier

i will try now....

[mic]

aha =) it is useful to explore 'os', 're', 'glob' and other modules in py for quick solving such small tasks..

[itriix]

okay well i tried it a few times with nothing but errors...

path = os.chdir("/Users/Me/School/Directed_Study/week10/")

seems to work but then when i do:

returns an error.  but i've copy and pasted the path into the script so it's the correct path...

a = os.listdir(path)

[mic]

hm

os.chdir("/Users/Me/School/Directed_Study/week10/")
path = os.getcwd()
a = os.listdir(path)

[itriix]

That was it! Been playing with this all day, so i think my brain is kinda loopy!

appreciate it!

thanks

J

[itriix]

actually while we're on the topic, i do have a new question:

i'm noticing that by using this os.chdir("path") process, it's definately going to be machine dependent

so when i move my files somewhere else, i'll have to update it.

i'm thinking if i keep to a structure such as $HIP/Week10/bgeos

then no matter what computer i go to, the script will work...

are you aware of any method to use some path as such? maybe using a different method than the os.chdir and os.getcwd method?

[rdg]

actually while we're on the topic, i do have a new question:

i'm noticing that by using this os.chdir("path") process, it's definately going to be machine dependent

so when i move my files somewhere else, i'll have to update it.

i'm thinking if i keep to a structure such as $HIP/Week10/bgeos

then no matter what computer i go to, the script will work...

are you aware of any method to use some path as such? maybe using a different method than the os.chdir and os.getcwd method?

If you move your code into the pythonModule of a HDA - which can be made from an empty subnetwork - you can use the gui items like browse for file - to set you variables:

http://www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini9.5/hom/assetscripts

[mic]

.. and i don't know how to get $HIP in python.. maybe

http://www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini9.5/hom/hou/Variable

which is not yet implemented?..

[edward]

Can't you just use a Trail SOP followed by a Cache SOP? I've attached an example.

geo_mosaic.hip

[graham]

You can get $HIP in python using either:

hou.expandString('$HIP')

or

hou.hscriptExpression('$HIP')

[mic]

thank you, graham, answer was easy)