Every function has an associated doc string that includes a short description of the function, some information about what parameters the function expects and an example how the function is called.
Example (inside an interactive Python session):
>>> from ri import *
>>> help(RiPatch)
RiPatch(type, paramlist)
type is one of RI_BILINEAR (4 vertices) or RI_BICUBIC (16 vertices).
Number of array elements for primitive variables:
-------------------------------------------------
constant: 1 varying: 4
uniform: 1 vertex: 4/16 (depends on type)
Example: RiPatch(RI_BILINEAR, [0,0,0, 1,0,0, 0,1,0, 1,1,0])
or from the shell (outside the Python shell):
> pydoc ri.RiCropWindow
Python Library Documentation: function RiCropWindow in ri
RiCropWindow(left, right, bottom, top)
Specify a subwindow to render.
The values each lie between 0 and 1.
Example: RiCropWindow(0.0, 1.0 , 0.0, 1.0) (renders the entire frame)
RiCropWindow(0.5, 1.0 , 0.0, 0.5) (renders the top right quarter)