Hello all, I have question that is confusing me. What is the difference between /shop and /mat contexts? If I am remembering it correctly, materials used to be created in /shop context of previous Houdini versions. You could jump in to edit the vex code. Now, they are created in the /mat context.

When Jeff presented H16 at our studio last week, I proposed this analogy…. to the conclusion to think of materials and the VOPs they contain like…. VOP sops and the VOPs they contain. He agreed that this was a valid analogy.

When you think about shops think that you only had the option to make 1 VOP sop to shape an imported bit of geometry, so you had to configure and hack that one VOP sop to do the whole job in one go. This reflects the part where you apply one shop and it does all the work, so you open it up and get hacking, or make an uber shader and tweak it to the Nth degree. Now with materials you can think of it as if you can use multiple, ether pre made VOP SOPs or roll your own that you can mix and match to create your look. Also you can use fairly primitive VOP SOPs combined with complicated ones feeding off each other. You can still make your own all in one VOP SOPs or roll your own higher level tools that are not meant to be used on their own but always with other nodes.

Thinking of it this way made it crystal clear for me, since I am good friends with VOP SOPs.

I couldn't find anywhere that officially said what the deal was between Materials vs SHOP's.

Until I stumbled across a what's new page in H16.


“SHOPs are obsolete as of Houdini 16.”




http://www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini/news/16/rendering.html [www.sidefx.com]

If you use mat, you can at once quickly use shaders. And then, when you finish tests with shader, you must add material builder or subnet with that network. Also in shop, if you want use one, exaple noise, in surface and displacement, you must copy this noise in two contexts. And if you want tune this noise, you mast go in both context. In mat context you can use one node for surface and displace.
Yes, “SHOPs are obsolete as of Houdini 16.”. But today CVEX not correctly work in mat, and working in shop.

Generally mat is easier than shop, but I still have to use shop for substances.

Has H17.5 no longer SHOPs?
https://www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini/nodes/shop/index.html [www.sidefx.com]

Has SHOPs functionality moved to MAT? Are courses that explain SHOPs still valuable? I can't find some good introduction to MAT/SHOPs/VOPs that is in Houdini 17.5.

Please help me get started.