The functions described in this section are extensions to the
geometry shader API described in Programming mental ray
[Handbook 2]. Functions that
begin with mi_api_* are used to
create a scene in the database. This is a high-level API that is
also used by mental ray's own scene translator and geometry
shaders. It is largely based on named database elements. The
later SCENE and DB chapters will provide a more low-level access
to the underlying scene storage mechanisms.