You can mix-and-match expressions in different languages (HScript or Python) on the same node. Parameters that use a different language from the node’s default language are highlighted in pink.

Most expressions are not equivalent between the two languages, so changing the language will cause an error until you change the expression. However, several commonly used expression functions such as hou.ch(), hou.bezier(), and hou.cubic() are designed to use the same syntax as in Hscript.

• To access the values of Hscript local variables in Python, use lvar("name") (hou.lvar()). For example, to get $TX, use lvar("TX").

  The hou.lvar() function cannot access Hscript global variables (use hou.expandString()).

• Many SOPs evaluate parameter expressions separately for each primitive or point, with the local variables changed on each iteration. To write these kinds of expressions in Python without using lvar(), use pwd().curPoint() or pwd().curPrim() to operate on the current hou.Point or hou.Prim object.

  For example, instead of lvar("Cr"), you could use curPoint().attribValue("C")[0]. While this is more verbose, it is more flexible, allowing you to access information on the point/primitive that may not be available in local variables.

For plain values of text parameters, Houdini will do string expansion on the value. For example it will expand image$F.pic to image1.pic. However, if you use an expression to generate the string, Houdini will not expand the result, so you need to do the equivalent of string expansion in the expression. For example "image%d.pic" % frame().

Single line parameter expressions are evaluated as Python expressions.

If you use ⌃ Ctrl + E in a parameter to open the multi-line editor and create a multi-line parameter expression, it is evaluated as a function body and must use return.

For example, a single line expression could be ch("ty") + 2. A multi-line parameter script would be something like (note the use of the return statement):

if ch("ty") == 0:
    return 0
if ch("ty") < 0:
    return ch("tx")
return ch("tz")

You have the full power of Python in the parameter scripts. However, beware that Houdini may evaluate the parameter more often than you expect.

• Houdini runs Python parameter expressions/scripts in a context separate from the global namespace you use in the Python shell, so you don’t have to worry about global Python variables affecting parameter expressions, and vice-versa.

  If you actually want to access a global variable from a Python parameter expression, you can import __main__ to get access to Houdini’s global Python namespace. For example, to access the foo variable in the global namespace in a parameter expression, use __import__("__main__").foo.

• Python parameter expressions/scripts don’t need to prepend hou. to HOM function/class names, or hou.session. for objects in the session module. You can also call common math functions from Python’s math module.

  Basically, they run in a context with the following imports:

  from hou import *
  from hou.session import *
  from math import (
      acos, asin, atan, atan2, ceil, cos, cosh, degrees, exp, fabs,
      floor, log, log10, pow, radians, sin, sinh, sqrt, tan, tanh
  )
  

• You can modify the parameter expression context using hou.expressionGlobals(). For example, to make a custom function available to all parameter expressions:

  # This would go in a startup script like $HOME/houdiniX.Y/python2.7libs/pythonrc.py
  
  # Add a clamp function to the parameter context
  def clamp(value, min, max):
      return (min if value < min else (max if value > max else value))
  hou.expressionGlobals()["clamp"] = clamp
  
  # Make a pi variable available in the parameter context
  from math import pi
  hou.expressionGlobals()["pi"] = math.pi
  

• In a parameter expression, the pwd() function (hou.pwd()) will return the node containing the expression, not Houdini’s current node. Similarly, hou.phm() will return the python module associated with the definition of the node containing the expression. You can also use relative parameter and node references in parameter expressions in functions such as hou.ch() and hou.evalParm().

It is convenient to have expressions be aware of the channel’s vector index since expressions are applied individually on vector components.

vec_id = pwd().parm( expandString('$CH') ).componentIndex()
return vtorigin("/obj/obj1","/obj/obj2")[vec_id]