Is Mel the same language as python?

Question

I'm asking because I want to start learning to write tools for 3D packages like maya. I also would like to know more about what kind of code Houdini uses. I mainly have experience in C# I have some experience with Java and as3 bit have not applied either in years.

Answer 1

MEL is not python, it is Maya's own internal language that has syntax similar to perl.
Python is used more and more in 3d scripting, you can use it in Maya too (instead of Mel) and Houdini too (actually Houdini has a wide range of apis to many programming languages.)
I am not an expert, I read wikipedia, you can find a lot more details there.