The real heavy lifting comes from the tight integration between MEL and that GUI, which permits all sorts of things to be made and then quickly manipulated using the SAME MAYA GUI.
But What I meant is When I started working with Maya initially - I was already put off by the extremely complex GUI. Trying to program ? I do not think many programmers appreciative the deep learning curve needed - and the average modeler is not adequately equiped.
The data is complex, there are nearly always multiple interaction modes, selections, etc... going on too.
Back when I learned on 8 bit computers, it was kind of easy because they didn't do much. One soon found themselves into the guts of the machine doing assembly language to make any magic happen. All from books, magazines, peers, etc...
Looking at listings was high value.
Well, today we've got YouTube and it's awesome! I can watch somebody model, or program, or do both.
It is a deep curve, but we've got so much better learning now. Back when I learned CAD and things like MAYA, I had to do it old school. Get the book, go. I had the advantage of some peers who would give me some help, or do a quick tutorial. Know what? I videotaped one of those, a little precursor to what we have today.
There is a worry I have of hobbling great UI models by over engineering this learning curve bit. Where we can simplify, we should, but not at the expense of the peak use capability possible by experienced and adept users.
MAYA, and many CAD packages are bending that line, and it hurts at times. People who know their stuff could be sharing it just as much as relearning or working around the changes needed to reduce the need for said sharing.