Iray Programmer's Manual

Preface
getting-started | Getting started
- Release overview
- Example programs
- How to compile a program
- How to run a program
- Starting and shutting down the Iray API
- A first image
Library design
- API modules
- Shared library
- Naming conventions
- Include files
- Include file compile-time configuration
- Main API access point
- Version numbers and compatibility
- Interfaces
- Reference counting
- Handle class
- Resources
- Strings
- Error handling
- Database, transactions and scopes
  - Transactions
  - Database scopes
- Runtime configuration
Rendering
- Rendering overview
- Rendering and canvases
- Render mode selection
- Progressive rendering of a scene
- Instancing
- Own canvas class
- Asynchronous rendering
- Multiple render contexts
Iray Photoreal
- photoreal-introduction | Introduction
- System requirements
- Limitations
- Matte objects and matte lights
- Refractive objects and IOR handling
- Progressive rendering
- Caustic sampler
- Architectural sampler
- Light portals
- photoreal-options | Rendering options
- Mixed mode rendering and load balancing
- Timeout prevention
- Integrated noise reduction
Iray Interactive
- interactive-introduction | Introduction
- System requirements
- Limitations
- Progressive rendering
- Lighting
- Rendering options
- Path space filtering
- Output format
- Global performance settings
- Comparison with Iray Photoreal
Iray Realtime
- realtime-introduction | Introduction
- System requirements
- Limitations
- Rendering options
Iray Blend
- Introduction
- Rendering options
Scene database
- Overview of the scene database elements
- Creating a scene programmatically
Geometry
- Creating triangle meshes
- Creating polygon meshes
- Creating on-demand meshes
- Creating subdivision surfaces
- Creating freeform surfaces
Materials
- Material Definition Language
- Measured materials
- Editing and creating materials
Decals
Sources of light
- Emission distribution functions
- Light distribution from scene elements
Environment dome and implicit groundplane
- Environment function
- Environment dome
- Implicit groundplane
Camera
- Tonemapping
  - Photographic tonemapper
  - Custom tonemapper
- Bloom filter
- Lens
- Virtual backplate
- Motion blur
Physically plausible scene setup
- Recommendations for geometry preparation
- Recommendations for lights
  - Using photometric lights
  - Using environment and sunlight
- Recommendations for materials
- Recommendations for cameras
Networking
- Networking overview
- Networking modes
- Iray Bridge
Delivering an image from server-based rendering
- Running an HTTP server
- RTMP server
- RTMP client
- Running an RTMP and HTTP server with mouse interaction
Customization
- Extending the database with user-defined classes
- Extending neuray with plugins
- Extending supported file formats with plugins
Appendix
- Supported file formats and URI schemes
- Canvas names in render targets
- Light path expressions
Bibliography

URI schemes

All import and export methods use a common naming convention to identify files based on URIs as defined in [RFC3986]. Currently only the URI scheme file is supported. An empty URI scheme defaults to the file scheme. URI authorities are not supported, except for the empty URI authority, which is needed in some cases to resolve ambiguities (see below).

Within the file scheme relative and absolute URI paths are supported (see Section 4 in [RFC3986]). URI paths are mapped to file system paths as follows.

On Linux and Mac OS, URI paths are treated as file system paths without any translation.
On Windows, slashes in relative URI paths are replaced by backslashes to obtain the file system path.

On Windows, absolute URI paths are mapped to file system paths according to the following table:

URI path	File system path	Comment
`/C:/dir1/dir2/file`	`C:\dir1\dir2\file`	-
`/C/dir1/dir2/file`	`C:\dir1\dir2\file`	This mapping is supported in addition to the first one since a colon is a reserved character in URIs.
`/dir1/dir2/file`	`\dir1\dir2\file`	This mapping is only supported for top-level directory names not consisting of a single letter.
`//share/dir1/dir2/file`	`\\share\dir1\dir2\file`	This mapping requires an (otherwise optional) empty URI authority ( `//` ) since otherwise the share name is interpreted as URI authority.

Unless the ${shader} variable, explained below, is used, the relative path is resolved relative to the current working directory of the application, or for recursive imports and exports, relative to the scene file referencing it.

The ${shader} variable can be used in URI paths, which is expanded by neuray. The URI path may start with the string ${shader} followed by a slash and a relative path, in which case the relative path is resolved relative to the site's shaders directory. If several shaders directories have been configured, they are searched in turn. The ${shader} variable is only supported for import methods, not for export methods. It is primarily intended to be used for MDL modules (.mdl files).