Web3D
The term Web3D encompasses all techniques that three-dimensional computer graphics use in web applications .
Web3D applications usually use a browser plug-in to transfer the rendering of 3D models, possibly combined with user interaction, to the web browser . Powerful with the proliferation 3D graphics cards and corresponding 3D APIs (such as Direct3D or QuickDraw 3D) were created the conditions to enable 3D images to anyone on the Web - a technique that previously often only professionals with specific applications in CAD - Architecture and design area was accessible.
A number of manufacturers have been developing web 3D software since the mid-1990s, based partly on common languages such as JavaScript and Java , and partly on their own developments. With the bursting of the new economy bubble in 2000, this development was significantly dampened and many products were discontinued. In addition, the VRML standard previously seen as a basis or model lost its support from SGI . The market did not respond with the expected demand for Web3D either.
To further develop and establish free Web3D technologies, the Web3D consortium was later founded, which is divided into small working groups for various areas of application, including transmission, security and syntax . In 2004, the consortium declared the X3D description language to be the new Web 3D standard ( ISO / IEC 19775 ). X3D replaces the older VRML 97 and uses the data description language XML .
Another path for the development of spatial visual representations on the web arises from virtual worlds such as Second Life and computer games . Various manufacturers are working on browser plug-ins for 3D display, so that no separate application has to be installed.
The WebVR programming interface has been developed since 2014 , while JavaScript libraries such as three.js and A-Frame are being created , which enable three-dimensional computer graphics to be easily used in modern browsers.
Classification
The various software processes can be classified according to the following characteristics:
- Standard conformity - compliance with recognized and widely used standards
- Installed base - distribution in browsers without having to reinstall software; the size of the community that supports the process depends on this
- Abstraction - efficiency, being able to program 3D functions
Examples:
- JavaScript is integrated in the browser and thus has the highest installed base, but the language itself does not have any standardized 3D functions; the abstraction depends on the 3D library that may be loaded.
- Java is a little less often available in the browser, and there is also a stronger version dependency. With Java 3D , however, a programming interface is provided that abstracts the usual 3D functions and structures and thus makes work easier for the programmer. A number of libraries use this to expand this concept, but without following standards themselves.
- VRML and more recently X3D go one step further by offering higher abstraction based on a clearly defined standard. Basic functions such as the movement of the model are usually already included in common renderers . The free programmability, e.g. for interactions, is limited. A VRML render plug- in must always be installed for display in common browsers . A number of commercial and open source variants are available.
- Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash ) as a proprietary product does not originally follow open standards, but has a broad installed base, as Flash functions are now integrated into most browsers. With Actionscript 3 , it has also followed the ECMAScript standard since June 2006 . The ActionScript format and language inherently only offer simple 3D functions, which in practical 3D applications usually have to be supplemented by additional libraries.
- With Shockwave 3D, Adobe Director from the same manufacturer offers a significantly more powerful 3D programming environment and also supports the hardware rendering APIs OpenGL and Direct3D , so that the performance of the graphics card is used. However, it is less common and requires the user to install a plug-in that is now 2.6 MB in size.
- Specific solutions such as Hypercosm offer even higher abstraction and thus faster implementation of 3D applications, as physical models, simulations and interactions are already taken into account in the language. Here, too, OpenGL support, and it is necessary a plugin, the spread and the development community are small, but specialized users like NASA does not scare.
See also
- WebGL
- O3D , Google's JavaScript library, is based on WebGL
- Verge3D JavaScript library from SoftSoft, based on Three.js
- X3D , XML-based
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Siggraph-X3D-wird-ISO-Standard-104802.html
- ↑ https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/IBM-und-3Di-stellen-universelle-3D-Browser-vor-184488.html