Comparing PyQT GUI-Based Material Editor for Radiance: Side by Side Evaluation

In this tutorial, we will be creating a PyQT GUI-based Material Editor for Radiance software. Radiance is a powerful lighting simulation software used for architectural and lighting design. Creating and editing materials is an essential part of using Radiance, and having a user-friendly GUI-based Material Editor can greatly simplify this process.

To create the Material Editor, we will be using PyQT, a set of Python bindings for the Qt application framework. PyQT allows us to create custom GUI interfaces using Python code. We will also be using the Radiance software to apply and edit materials in our scene.

Before we begin, make sure you have PyQT and Radiance installed on your computer. You can download PyQT from the official website and Radiance from the website of the Radiance project.

Step 1: Setting up the GUI

First, let’s create a new Python script and import the necessary libraries:

import sys
from PyQt5.QtWidgets import QApplication, QWidget, QPushButton, QVBoxLayout, QLabel, QLineEdit

Next, we will create a class for our Material Editor window:

class MaterialEditor(QWidget):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()

        self.initUI()

    def initUI(self):
        self.setWindowTitle('Material Editor')
        self.setGeometry(100, 100, 400, 400)

        self.layout = QVBoxLayout()

        self.label = QLabel('Material Name:')
        self.layout.addWidget(self.label)

        self.material_name = QLineEdit()
        self.layout.addWidget(self.material_name)

        self.edit_button = QPushButton('Edit Material')
        self.edit_button.clicked.connect(self.edit_material)
        self.layout.addWidget(self.edit_button)

        self.setLayout(self.layout)

    def edit_material(self):
        material_name = self.material_name.text()

        # Code for editing material in Radiance goes here

In the code above, we have created a simple MaterialEditor class that consists of a text input for the material name and a button to edit the material. The edit_material method will be used to apply the changes to the material in Radiance.

Step 2: Integrating with Radiance

To edit materials in Radiance, we will need to execute Radiance commands from our Python script. We can do this using the subprocess module, which allows us to create new processes, connect to their input/output/error pipes, and obtain their return codes.

First, let’s import the subprocess module:

import subprocess

Next, let’s update the edit_material method to execute a Radiance command for editing the material:

def edit_material(self):
    material_name = self.material_name.text()

    radiance_command = f'modify_material {material_name}'
    process = subprocess.Popen(radiance_command, shell=True, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT)

    output, _ = process.communicate()
    print(output.decode())

In the code above, we have created a Radiance command to modify the specified material. We then use the subprocess module to execute this command and capture the output. The output is printed to the console for debugging purposes.

Step 3: Running the Material Editor

Finally, let’s create a main function to run the Material Editor window:

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app = QApplication(sys.argv)
    material_editor = MaterialEditor()
    material_editor.show()
    sys.exit(app.exec_())

Save your Python script and run it using your Python interpreter. You should see a Material Editor window with a text input for the material name and a button to edit the material.

You can further customize the Material Editor by adding more input fields for material properties, implementing additional editing features, or integrating with other Radiance functions. The possibilities are endless with PyQT and Radiance!

I hope this tutorial has helped you create a GUI-based Material Editor for Radiance. Happy editing!