[Bf-committers] Command Port Patch, Version 2, Blender 2.46, revision 15538

[Dietrich Bollmann]

Hi Roger :)

On Tue, 2008-07-15 at 07:17 -0700, Roger Wickes wrote:
> This is very cool! Blender on a server can act like a graphical
> display station, being fed real-time data from clients.

Yes, that is how I am actually using it myself...

> I managed a Plant-floor Montoring System many years ago, and with this
> patch, I can see Blender being used to "see" what is going on there in
> the real-world as clients report their status through python commands
> to manipulate their object, changing color (green to red) as alerts
> are raised, pulsing in size perhaps when workloads are exceeded, and
> so on. 

sounds interesting :)

It also should be possible to use the command port for motion tracking,
animating via external controllers, playing puppetry, ... in short 
making some external tool or program control the Blender objects,
cameras, light etc. in realtime :)

Another related thing which should be made much easier with the command
port is the chaining together of Blender with other applications into
some kind of pipeline to automatically manipulate graphical data.

> Thank you! 

Thank you very much for making me feel useful :)

> I can also see this useful for real-time financial/metric reporting,
> where you have a network of Blenders sharing data... Keep up the good
> work! Hope this makes it into 2.47.

So do I :)

By the way, did you try to to compile it?

I developed and tested everything on Debian sid - and would be very
curious to hear if it works without any changes on Windows and Mac
also...

It should as everything I use is Posix - but...

Cheers, Dietrich



>  ----------------
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Dietrich Bollmann <diresu at web.de>
> To: bf-blender developers <bf-committers at blender.org>
> Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2008 11:43:58 PM
> Subject: [Bf-committers] Command Port Patch, Version 2, Blender 2.46,
> revision 15538
> 
> Hi, 
> 
> I finally found the time to refactor the command port patch:
> 
>   The Blender Command Port patch makes it possible to start Blender
> in 
>   Python server mode. Clients can connect and send Python commands via
>   the command port to the server. 
> 
>       * The Command Port allows to edit objects simultaneously using
> the
>         Blender GUI and one or more clients connected to Blender via
> the
>         command port. 
>       * The patch also includes blash, a Blender Python shell client. 
>       * blash can be used with the emacs python mode - the result is a
>         formidable Blender Python development environment. 
>       * Clients can be written in any language: lisp, Python, Perl, C,
> C
>         ++, Java etc. 
>       * The patch was only tested on Debian sid until now but should
> run
>         on any platform after a little customisation. 
> 
> Please refer to the corresponding thread on the Blender patch tracker
> https://projects.blender.org/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=6887&group_id=9&atid=127
> and the command port "home" page at
> http://formgames.org/blender/command-port
> 
> Thanks, Dietrich
> 
> 
> --- from the patch tracker ---
> 
> Hi,
> 
> Here comes a new version of the command port patch.
> 
> I adapted the patch to the current state of the blender repository
> (Blender 2.46, revision 15538) and, following the advice of Stephen
> Swaney "It is easier to wade thru patches if they deal with a single 
> topic." (Stephen, 2007/08/17), "stripped [it] down to a single
> feature."
> (Stephen, 2007/12/09).
> 
> Hope it gets accepted this time :)
> 
> Cheers, Dietrich
> 
> 
> Example - a simple pyramid
> 
>   The following example shows how the command port can be used
>   to model a simple pyramid:
> 
>   - start the Blender server in some xterm
> 
>       $ blender -w -p 10 10 800 600 --command-port 6789 &
> 
>     and erase the default cube
> 
>   - start blash in another xterm
> 
>       $ blash --port 6789
>       This is Blash - the GNU BLender-Again SHell :)
>       Connection to Blender Server established.  (IP address:
> 127.0.0.1, port: 6789)
> 
>   - enter blender python commands
> 
>       from Blender import *
> 
>       vertexes = [[1, 1, 0], [-1, 1, 0], [-1, -1, 0], [1, -1,
> 0], [0, 0, 1.27]]
>       faces    = [[3, 2, 1, 0], [0, 1, 4], [1, 2, 4], [2, 3,
> 4], [3, 0, 4]]
> 
>       mesh = Mesh.New('mesh')
>       mesh.verts.extend(vertexes)
>       mesh.faces.extend(faces)
> 
>       scene  = Scene.GetCurrent()
>       object = scene.objects.new(mesh, 'object')
>       Redraw()
> 
>       bye
> 
> 
> Installation
> 
>   - make a directory to build Blender
> 
>       BCP=$HOME/bcp
>       mkdir -p $BCP
>       cd $BCP
> 
>   - download the sources of blender 2.46 revision 15538
> 
>       svn checkout https://svn.blender.org/svnroot/bf-blender/tru
> nk/blender at 15538
> 
>   - download blender command port patch
> 
>       wget http://formgames.org/blender/command-port/patches/blen
> der-command-port-patch.2008-07-12.2.46.r15538.txt
> 
>   - patch the sources
> 
>       cd blender
>       patch -p0 < ../blender-command-port-patch.2008-07-12.2.4
> 6.r15538.txt
> 
>   - build blash and blender
> 
>       scons WITH_COMMAND_PORT=true blash
> 
>   - the (linux) binaries
> 
>       $BCP/install/linux2/blender
>       $BCP/install/linux2/blash
> 
> Note: If you want to try the patch with a newer state of the blender
> sources you might update your copy with svn update and rebuild. If you
> are lucky the patch still works...
> 
> For more information see the blender command port page
> at http://formgames.org/blender/command-port/
> 
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