Hi I’m just wondering if anyone can explain the difference between a max plugin and a max script – is it easy to convert between a maxscript file and a .dlu?
It seems there’s very little difference in functionality as both can do the same sort of thing – but plugins seem more ‘permanent’ ie you install them and they’re always there!
Any ideas?
Thanks!
They are technically very different. Plugins are written in c++ (which is difficult), while scripts are written in MaxScript which is pretty easy to use, even for non programmers.
C++ plugins can theoretically be far more advanced than MaxScripts, but they also normally take far longer to develope.
The box object in c++ takes about 50 pages of c++ code, but in MaxScript you can only write
“box()” and you have a box to illustrate the difference.
(This comparison is not completely fair, but it does illustrate the point).
/Andreas
Also plugins tend to run faster, since they’re compiled. So if you’re doing something that requires tons of computation, a plugin would be better. Like for example, a raytracer written in c++ would be way faster than one written in maxscript
- Neil
A raytracer would make MaxScript explode!
That would be the absolute worst-case scenario for MaxScript. It doesn’t like data computations at all, doesn’t like graphics either and doesn’t like big matrices.
/Andreas
I have a friend who wrote a maxscript raytracer about 7 years ago. He didn’t know C, and did know maxscript, so he just wanted to see if it could be done. He was able to render a teapot on a ground plane in like 5 hours at 320×240 or something So yes, not ideal, but it can be and was done.
- Neil
Hehe, good story!
Don’t tell Bobo that.
-Eric