Basic Structures In a PiXYZ Scene
To get started, please check also the following topics about PiXYZ concepts and vocabulary:
PiXYZ objects types
- All PiXYZ objects are called Entities
 - In Python Scripting, an entity is defined by a unique numerical identifier, or ID
 - The API Documentation shows inheritance of entity types
 
For example, a Part is inherited from Component, so if a function wants a Component parameter you can give it a Part:

PiXYZ Scene occurrences
- Product Structure / Scene nodes are Occurrences
 - An occurrence can have children occurrences
 - An occurrence has properties:
 - Name
 - Transform
 - Material
 - Visible
 - An occurrence owns components (maximum one of each type)
 

PiXYZ Scene components
- List of components types:
 - Part
 - PMI
 - Light
 - Visual Behavior
 - Interaction Behavior
 
Prototyping
- Each occurrence can have a prototype, a prototype is also an occurrence
 - A prototype is a kind of pattern
 - An occurrence can override properties of its prototype occurrence
 

PiXYZ Scene Part
- A part contains geometry, contained in a Shape
 - A part may contain one or two shapes:
 - A BRepShape with CAD representation
 - A TessellatedShape with Mesh representation
 - The Active shape is the tessellate shape if it exists, the BRep shape otherwise.
 - A part has a local transformation matrix
 

Common functions for Scene handling
- Get the type of an entity as a String:
 
core.getEntityTypeStr(entity
- Get/Set a property value (All property values are Strings):
 
nameValue = core.getProperty(entity, « Name »)
core.setProperty(entity, « Name », « NameValue »)
- List available properties on an entity
 
core.listProperties(entity)
Other Python examples
- Occurrence list with the root: [scene.getRoot()]
 - Occurrence list with all parts: scene.getPartOccurrences()
 - Occurrence list with selection: scene.getSelectedOccurrences()