setAttr stringArray with Python

[Chadrik]

with maya.cmds:

import maya.cmds as cmds
cmds.setAttr('loc.strArray',3,"first", "second", "third",type='stringArray')


with pymel:

from pymel import *
setAttr('loc.strArray',["first", "second", "third"] )

[Sagroth]

Great! Thanks :)

[Sagroth]

There's a great way my fellow programmer Roman showed me today. Very useful for filling stringArray or componentList attributes without pre-defined number of elements of with a large number of them:

inList = [ 'vtx[100]', 'vtx[200]', 'vtx[300]' ]
cmds.setAttr( grp + '.strArr', type = 'stringArray', *([len(inList)] + inList) )

[dmaher]

inList = [ 'vtx[100]', 'vtx[200]', 'vtx[300]' ]
cmds.setAttr( grp + '.strArr', type = 'stringArray', *([len(inList)] + inList) )


I have a follow-up question... What does the * symbol do?

[NaughtyNathan]

I have a follow-up question... What does the * symbol do?


The * before the last parameter in an argument list denotes that parameter as a list of arbitrary length.

:nathaN

[Sagroth]

Yeah, practically it takes a list and throws each of it's elements as a value for a command, but only at the end of it's arguments.

So you can replace:

move( 1, 2, 3 )

with:

trVar = [1, 2, 3]
move( *trVar )

but since move() asks for object after translation values and * does work only as the last argument, you can't use:

move( *trVar, 'pSphere1' )

but this will be valid:

setAttr( 'pSphere1.translate', type = 'double3', *trVar )

since setAttr receives values as the last argument. Same way when you try to fill your componentList or smth like that with elements of unknown quantity, you can use *.

[dmaher]

Oh...that makes sense now. Thanks for the explanation. :)

-dm

[Sagroth]

I had a talk with my friend programmer today... Actually, since move() wants object after values, you can use:

move( *trVar + ['pSphere1'] )

And this * thing is simplified version of apply() command. The full form is like this:

apply( move, trVar + ['pSphere1'] )

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