evaluationManager command

Go to: Synopsis. Return value. Keywords. Flags. MEL examples.

Synopsis

evaluationManager [-asyncUpdate boolean] [-cycleCluster string] [-downstreamFrom string] [-enabled] [-idleBuild boolean] [-invalidate boolean] [-manipulation boolean] [-mode string] [-nodeTypeGloballySerialize boolean] [-nodeTypeParallel boolean] [-nodeTypeSerialize boolean] [-nodeTypeUntrusted boolean] [-safeMode boolean] [-upstreamFrom string]

evaluationManager is NOT undoable, queryable, and NOT editable.

Handles turning on and off the evaluation manager method of evaluating the DG. Query the 'mode' flag to see all available evaluation modes. The special mode 'off' disables the evaluation manager. The scheduling override flags 'nodeTypeXXX' force certain node types to use specific scheduling types, even though the node descriptions might indicate otherwise. Use with caution; certain nodes may not react well to alternative scheduling types. Only one scheduling type override will be in force at a time, the most restrictive one. In order, they are untrusted, globally serialized, locally serialized, and parallel. The node types will however remember all overrides. For example, if you set a node type override to be untrusted, then to be parallel it will continue to use the untrusted override. If you then turn off the untrusted override, the scheduling will advance to the parallel one. The actual node scheduling type is always superceded by the overrides. For example, a serial node will still be considered as parallel if the node type has the parallel override set, even though 'serial' is a more restrictive scheduling type. See the 'dbpeek' command 'graph' operation with arguments 'evaluationGraph' and 'scheduling' to see what scheduling type any particular node will end up using after the hierarchy of overrides and native scheduling types is applied.

Return value

string[]	The names of all evaluation manager modes (querying without flags)
string[]	The names of all nodes involved in a cycle cluster with the selected one.
boolean	The success of activating of deactivating manipulation (with the 'manipulation' flag)
boolean	The manipulation active or inactive state (querying the 'manipulation' flag)
boolean	The state of simultaneous Viewport 2 and Evaluation Graph update (querying the 'asyncUpdate' flag)
boolean	The success of setting the evaluation manager mode (with the 'mode' flag)
boolean	The success of setting the evaluation manager idle refresh build mode (with the 'idleBuild' flag)
boolean	Is the idle refresh build mode active? (querying with the 'idleBuild' flag)
boolean	The success of setting the node type parallel scheduling mode (with the 'nodeTypeParallel' flag)
boolean[]	The parallel scheduling states of specified node types (querying the 'nodeTypeParallel' flag with object(s))
string[]	The names of all node types in parallel scheduling mode (querying the 'nodeTypeParallel' flag alone)
boolean	The success of setting the node type serialized mode (with the 'nodeTypeSerialize' flag)
boolean[]	The serialized states of specified node types (querying the 'nodeTypeSerialize' flag with object(s))
string[]	The names of all node types in serial scheduling mode (querying the 'nodeTypeSerialize' flag alone)
boolean	The success of setting the node type globally serialized mode (with the 'nodeTypeGloballySerialize' flag)
boolean[]	The globally serialized states of specified node types (querying the 'nodeTypeGloballySerialize' flag with object(s))
string[]	The names of all node types in globally serialized scheduling mode (querying the 'nodeTypeGloballySerialize' flag alone)
boolean	The success of setting the node type untrusted mode (with the 'nodeTypeUntrusted' flag)
boolean[]	The untrusted of specified node types (querying the 'nodeTypeUntrusted' flag with object(s))
string[]	The names of all node types in untrusted scheduling mode (querying the 'nodeTypeUntrusted' flag alone)
string	The evaluation manager mode (querying with the 'mode' flag)
string[]	The names of all nodes immediately downstream/upstream of the named one(s) (with the 'upstreamFrom' or 'downstreamFrom' flags)

In query mode, return type is based on queried flag.

Keywords

evaluation, manager, DG, runtime

Flags

asyncUpdate, cycleCluster, downstreamFrom, enabled, idleBuild, invalidate, manipulation, mode, nodeTypeGloballySerialize, nodeTypeParallel, nodeTypeSerialize, nodeTypeUntrusted, safeMode, upstreamFrom

Long name (short name) Argument types Properties

-asyncUpdate(-asu) boolean

This flag turns on/off the concurrent update of the Viewport 2.0 database and the evaluation in the Evaluation Graph. This can improve performance in those cases when the viewport update takes a long time and is mostly serialized due to the structure of the Evaluation Graph. It may help performance in those specific circumstances though you will have to measure it on a case-by-case basis.

-cycleCluster(-ccl) string

Returns a list of nodes that are stored together with the given one in a cycle cluster. The list will be empty when the evaluation mode is not active or the node is not in a cycle.

-enabled(-e)

Valid in query mode only. Checks to see if the evaluation manager is currently enabled. This is independent of the current mode.

-idleBuild(-ib) boolean

This flag sets the rebuild option. If set to true then the evaluation graph will rebuild on an idle event as soon as it is able to do so. If false then it will only rebuild when required, for example at the start of playback. Note: This only applies to the graph attached to the normal context. All other graphs will be built according to their own rules. The disadvantage of building on an idle event is that for some workflows that are changing the graph frequently, or very large graphs, the graph build time may impact the workflow. The default is to have idleBuild turned on. If the build time is impacted, this flag can be turned off.

-invalidate(-inv) boolean

This flag invalidates the graph. Value is used to control auto rebuilding on idle (false) or forced (true). This command should be used as a last resort.

-manipulation(-man) boolean

This flag is used to activate evaluation manager manipulation support.

-mode(-m) string

Changes the current evaluation mode in the evaluation manager. Supported values are "off", "serial", "serialUncached" and "parallel".

-downstreamFrom(-dst) string

Find the DG nodes that are immediately downstream of the named one in the evaluation graph. Note that the connectivity is via evaluation mode connections, not DG connections. In query mode the graph is walked and any nodes downstream of the named one are returned. The return type is alternating pairs of values that represent the graph level and the node name, e.g. if you walk downstream from A in the graph A -> B -> C then the return will be the array of strings ("0","A","1","B","2","C"). Scripts can deconstruct this information into something more visually recognizable. Note that cycles are likely to be present so any such scripts would have to handle them.

In query mode, this flag needs a value.

-nodeTypeGloballySerialize(-ntg) boolean

This flag is used only when the evaluation manager is in "parallel" mode but can be set at anytime. It activates or deactivates the override to force global serial scheduling for the class name argument(s) in the evaluation manager. Legal object values are class type names: e.g. "transform", "skinCluster", "mesh". When queried without specified nodes, it returns the list of nodes with the global serial scheduling override active. Scheduling overrides take precedence over all of the node and node type scheduling rules. Use with caution; certain nodes may not react well to alternative scheduling types.

-nodeTypeParallel(-ntp) boolean

This flag is used only when the evaluation manager is in "parallel" mode but can be set at anytime. It activates or deactivates the override to force parallel scheduling for the class name argument(s) in the evaluation manager. Legal object values are class type names: e.g. "transform", "skinCluster", "mesh". When queried without specified nodes, it returns the list of nodes with the parallel scheduling override active. Scheduling overrides take precedence over all of the node and node type scheduling rules. Use with caution; certain nodes may not react well to alternative scheduling types.

-nodeTypeSerialize(-nts) boolean

This flag is used only when the evaluation manager is in "parallel" mode but can be set at anytime. It activates or deactivates the override to force local serial scheduling for the class name argument(s) in the evaluation manager. Legal object values are class type names: e.g. "transform", "skinCluster", "mesh". When queried without specified nodes, it returns the list of nodes with the local serial scheduling override active. Scheduling overrides take precedence over all of the node and node type scheduling rules. Use with caution; certain nodes may not react well to alternative scheduling types.

-nodeTypeUntrusted(-ntu) boolean

This flag is used only when the evaluation manager is in "parallel" mode but can be set at anytime. It activates or deactivates the override to force untrusted scheduling for the class name argument(s) in the evaluation manager. Legal object values are class type names: e.g. "transform", "skinCluster", "mesh". When queried without specified nodes, it returns the list of nodes with the untrusted scheduling override active. Scheduling overrides take precedence over all of the node and node type scheduling rules. Use with caution; certain nodes may not react well to alternative scheduling types. Untrusted scheduling will allow nodes to be evaluated in a critical section, separately from any other node evaluation. It should be used only as a last resort since the lost parallelism caused by untrusted nodes can greatly reduce performance.

-upstreamFrom(-ust) string

Find the DG nodes that are immediately upstream of the named one in the evaluation graph. Note that the connectivity is via evaluation mode connections, not DG connections. In query mode the graph is walked and any nodes upstream of the named one are returned. The return type is alternating pairs of values that represent the graph level and the node name, e.g. if you walk upstream from C in the graph A -> B -> C then the return will be the array of strings ("0","C","1","B","2","A"). Scripts can deconstruct this information into something more visually recognizable. Note that cycles are likely to be present so any such scripts would have to handle them.

In query mode, this flag needs a value.

-safeMode(-sfm) boolean

This flag activates/deactivates parallel evaluation safe mode. When enabled, parallel execution will fall back to serial when evaluation graph is missing dependencies. Detection is happening on scheduling of parallel evaluation, which means potential fallback will happen at the next evaluation. WARNING: This mode should be disabled with extreme caution. It will prevent parallel mode from falling back to serial mode when an invalid evaluation is detected. Sometimes the evaluation will still work correctly in those situations and use of this flag will keep the peak parallel performance running. However since the safe mode is used to catch invalid evaluation disabling it may also cause problems with evaluation, anything from invalid values, missing evaluation, or even crashes.

Flag can appear in Create mode of command	Flag can appear in Edit mode of command
Flag can appear in Query mode of command	Flag can be used more than once in a command.

MEL examples

// Enable evaluation manager in serial mode
evaluationManager -mode "serial";
// Result: 1 //
// Confirm that the evaluation manager is currently enabled
evaluationManager -q -enabled;
// Result: 1 //
// Does nothing since it was already in serial mode
evaluationManager -mode "serial";
// Result: 1 //
// Return the current evaluation manager mode and graph state
evaluationManager -q -m;
// Result: serial //
// Return all supported evaluation modes
evaluationManager -q;
// Result: off serial //
// Disable evaluation manager
evaluationManager -mode "off";
// Result: 1 //
// Activate parallel scheduling override on transform nodes
evaluationManager -nodeTypeParallel on "transform";
// Result: 1 //
// Query for node types with the parallel scheduling override
evaluationManager -q -nodeTypeParallel;
// Result: "transform" //
// Query the parallel scheduling override of a particular node type
evaluationManager -q -nodeTypeParallel "transform";
// Result: 1 //
// Activate locally serial scheduling override on transform nodes
evaluationManager -nodeTypeSerialize on "transform";
// Result: 1 //
// Query for node types with the locally serial scheduling override
evaluationManager -q -nodeTypeSerialize;
// Result: "transform" //
// Query the locally serial scheduling override of a particular node type
evaluationManager -q -nodeTypeSerialize "transform";
// Result: 1 //
// Activate globally serial scheduling override on transform nodes
evaluationManager -nodeTypeGloballySerialize on "transform";
// Result: 1 //
// Query for node types with the globally serial scheduling override
evaluationManager -q -nodeTypeGloballySerialize;
// Result: "transform" //
// Query the globally serial scheduling override of a particular node type
evaluationManager -q -nodeTypeGloballySerialize "transform";
// Result: 1 //
// Activate untrusted scheduling override on transform nodes
evaluationManager -nodeTypeUntrusted on "transform";
// Result: 1 //
// Query for node types with the untrusted scheduling override
evaluationManager -q -nodeTypeUntrusted;
// Result: "transform" //
// Query the untrusted scheduling override of a particular node type
evaluationManager -q -nodeTypeUntrusted "transform";
// Result: 1 //
// Force rebuild of evaluation graph for normal context
evaluationManager -invalidate on;
// Result: 1 //
// Test if evaluation graph is valid for normal context
evaluationManager -q -invalidate;
// Result: 0 //
// Activate safe mode for parallel executor
evaluationManager -safeMode on;
// Result: 1 //
// Query safe mode for parallel executor
evaluationManager -q -safeMode;
// Result: 1 //
// Enable manipulation with evaluation manager
evaluationManager -man on;
// Result: 1 //
// Query manipulation with evaluation manager
evaluationManager -q -man;
// Result: 1 //
// Show immediate downstream nodes
evaluationManager -downstreamFrom myNode;
// Result: myDownstreamNode //
// Show all downstream nodes
evaluationManager -downstreamFrom myRoot -q;
// Result: 0 myRoot 1 myNode 2 myDownstreamNode //
// Show upstream nodes
evaluationManager -upstreamFrom myDownstreamNode;
// Result: myNode //
// Show cycle cluster
evaluationManager -cycleCluster myNodeInCycle;
// Result: myNode, myNodeInCycle, myNode2 //
// Activate async update
evaluationManager -asyncUpdate on;
// Result: 1 //
// Query async update
evaluationManager -q -asyncUpdate;
// Result: 1 //

command (MEL)	Python version
evaluationManager	In categories: Animation