PyAssimp Readme
===============

A simple Python wrapper for Assimp using `ctypes` to access the library.
Requires Python >= 2.6.

Python 3 support is mostly here, but not well tested.

Note that pyassimp is not complete. Many ASSIMP features are missing.

USAGE
-----

### Complete example: 3D viewer

`pyassimp` comes with a simple 3D viewer that shows how to load and display a 3D
model using a shader-based OpenGL pipeline.

![Screenshot](3d_viewer_screenshot.png)

To use it, from within `/port/PyAssimp`:

```
$ cd scripts
$ python ./3D-viewer <path to your model>
```

You can use this code as starting point in your applications.

### Writing your own code

To get started with `pyassimp`, examine the simpler `sample.py` script in `scripts/`,
which illustrates the basic usage. All Assimp data structures are wrapped using
`ctypes`. All the data+length fields in Assimp's data structures (such as
`aiMesh::mNumVertices`, `aiMesh::mVertices`) are replaced by simple python
lists, so you can call `len()` on them to get their respective size and access
members using `[]`.

For example, to load a file named `hello.3ds` and print the first
vertex of the first mesh, you would do (proper error handling
substituted by assertions ...):

```python

from pyassimp import *
scene = load('hello.3ds')

assert len(scene.meshes)
mesh = scene.meshes[0]

assert len(mesh.vertices)
print(mesh.vertices[0])

# don't forget this one, or you will leak!
release(scene)

```

Another example to list the 'top nodes' in a
scene:

```python

from pyassimp import *
scene = load('hello.3ds')

for c in scene.rootnode.children:
    print(str(c))

release(scene)

```

INSTALL
-------

Install `pyassimp` by running:

```
$ python setup.py install
```

PyAssimp requires a assimp dynamic library (`DLL` on windows,
`.so` on linux, `.dynlib` on macOS) in order to work. The default search directories 
are:

- the current directory
- on linux additionally: `/usr/lib`, `/usr/local/lib`,
  `/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu`

To build that library, refer to the Assimp master `INSTALL`
instructions. To look in more places, edit `./pyassimp/helper.py`.
There's an `additional_dirs` list waiting for your entries.

