MayaVi

A screenshot of the main window, with an example visualization
Original author(s)	Prabhu Ramachandran
Developer(s)	Enthought
Initial release	2001
Stable release	1.5 / September 13, 2005; 6 years ago (2005-09-13)
Preview release	4.0.0 / June 22, 2011; 4 months ago (2011-06-22)[1]
Development status	Active
Written in	Python, VTK, WxPython/Qt
Operating system	GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows
Available in	English
Type	Data Visualizer
License	BSD
Website	code.enthought.com/projects/mayavi/

MayaVi is a scientific data visualizer written in Python, which uses VTK and provides a GUI via Tkinter. MayaVi was developed by Dr. Prabhu Ramachandran, is free and distributed under the BSD license. It is cross-platform and runs on any platform where both Python and VTK are available (almost any Unix, Mac OS X, or Windows). MayaVi is pronounced as a single name, "Ma-ya-vee", meaning "magician" in Sanskrit. The code of MayaVi has nothing in common with that of Autodesk Maya or Vi.^[2]

The latest version of MayaVi, called Mayavi2, is a component of the Enthought suite of scientific Python programs. It differs from the original MayaVi by its strong focus on making not only an interactive program, but also a reusable component for 3D plotting in Python. Although it exposes a slightly different interface and API than the original MayaVi, it is now more feature-rich.^[3][4]

Major features

• visualizes computational grids and scalar, vector, and tensor data
• an easy-to-use GUI
• can be imported as a Python module from other Python programs or can be scripted from the Python interpreter
• supports volume visualization of data via texture and ray cast mappers
• support for any VTK dataset using the VTK data format
• support for PLOT3D data
• multiple datasets can be used simultaneously
• provides a pipeline browser, with which objects in the VTK pipeline can be browsed and edited
• imports simple VRML and 3D Studio scenes
• custom modules and data filters can be added
• exporting to PostScript files, PPM/BMP/TIFF/JPEG/PNG images, Open Inventor, Geomview OOGL, VRML files, Wavefront .obj files, or RenderMan RIB file

References

1. ^ https://github.com/enthought/mayavi/tags
2. ^ MayaVi project page at SourceForge
3. ^ MayaVi2 wiki page
4. ^ MayaVi2 project page

External Links

• mayavi, Github
• MayaVi at SourceForge.net