MotionView Python Reference Guide
Reference materials for the MotionView Python Language.
Introduction
Starting in HyperWorks v2021, a Python API is available for MotionView.
- Customize MotionView
- Automate repetitive tasks through python scripts
- Integrate MotionView with other external tools that have a python interface
Why Python?
- Easy to learn and use.
- Popular among developers with over 250 thousand open source projects in https://pypi.org.
- Popular in the scientific community, as it is well suited for numerical calculations.
- Free - there are many publicly available web sites and resources dedicated to teaching Python.
- Robust - it can also scale to solve complex problems.
- Flexible - it is extremely well suited for rapid development and prototyping.
MotionView Python Class
The API is provided in a set of classes which represent different MotionView entities.
Properties
Every class has a list of properties which can be set during its instantiation or can be modified after its creation.
Along with the properties, each entity also has functions which can be called on a specific entity.
- The mass of a Body
- The CM (center of mass marker) of a Body
- The friction property of a Joint
Property Type | Description | Examples |
---|---|---|
Keyword Arguments | Modifiable data | x, y, or z property of a Point class mass property of a Body class |
Instances | Instance of another entity | cm property of a Body class is an Instance of a Marker class friction class within a Joint class |
Readonly Properties | Unmodifiable data | ID property of any entity class |
Data Types
Data Type | Description |
---|---|
Int | Python integer value. |
Bool | Python bool value. |
Double | Python float value. |
String | Python string value. |
Enum | Python string value that must be one of a specified list of values applicable
for an entity attribute. For example, a type property of a SpringDamper entity can only be one of TorsionSpring or CoilSpring. |
Reference | Reference to an existing MotionView entity. For example, Body-cg refers to a Point entity. |
Dict | Python dict. |
File | Python string which contains a legal file path. |
NumericVector | Python list of Doubles. |
StringVector | Python list of **String** values. |
Function | Python string which contains a legal solver function enclosed in \`\`. |