The Java(TM) 3D API Specification - Softcover

Deering, Michael; Rushforth, Kevin; Sowizral, Henry

9780201325768: The Java(TM) 3D API Specification

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0201325764 ISBN 13: 9780201325768

Publisher: Addison-Wesley, 1997

The Java 3D API, an exciting new part of the JavaMedia suite of APIs, enables the creation of three-dimensional graphics applications and Internet-based 3D applets. It gives developers high-level constructs for creating and manipulating 3D geometry and for building the structures used in rendering that geometry. With Java 3D, developers can efficiently define and render very large virtual worlds. Moreover, in line with Java's "write once, run anywhere" vision, applications written using Java 3D can run on a wide range of platforms and systems and are adapted for use on the Internet. This book represents the definitive Java 3D API specification, providing authoritative and detailed descriptions of each element of the API. It offers an informative overview of Java 3D, comprehensive instructions for "scene graph" definition and construction, and a detailed description of the Java 3D View Model, an innovative model enabling applications to be displayed on a wide array of devices.

The book also covers: input devices, such as six-degrees-of-freedom trackers; picking mechanisms; behaviors and interpolators for animating objects; and audio capabilities. The Java 3D Execution and Rendering Model is described in depth, including the immediate, retained, and compiled-retained modes.

Comprehensive and definitive, this book is an essential reference for any Java programmer interested in entering the exciting world of three-dimensional Internet applications.

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From the Inside Flap:

This document describes the Javao 3D API and presents some details on the implementation of the API. This specification is not intended as a programmeris guide. The programmeris guide will be written after the specification has been finalized.

This specification is written for 3D graphics application programmers. We assume that the reader has at least a rudimentary understanding of computer graphics. This includes familiarity with the essentials of computer graphics algorithms as well as familiarity with basic graphics hardware and associated terminology. Related Documentation

This specification is intended to be used in conjunction with the Java*3D reference guide, an online, browser-accessible, javadoc-generated API reference. Style Conventions

The following style conventions are used in this specification: Lucida type is used to represent computer code and the names of files and directories. Bold Lucida type is used for Java*3D API declarations. Bold type is used to represent variables. Italic type is used for emphasis and for equations. Programming Conventions

Java*3D uses the following programming conventions: The default coordinate system is right-handed, with +Y being up, +X horizontal to the right, and +Z directed toward the viewer. All angles or rotational representations are in radians. All distances are expressed in units or fractions of meters. Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge Warren Dale for writing the Sound API portion of this specification, Daniel Petersen for writing the scene graph sharing portion of the specification, and Bruce Bartlett for his assistance with the editing, formatting, and indexing of the specification.

We thank the Java*3D partners for their help in defining the Java*3D API. The Java*3D partner companies include Silicon Graphics, Inc., Intel Corporation, Apple Computer, Inc., and Sun Microsystems, Inc.

We also thank the many individuals and companies for their comments and suggestions on the successive drafts of this specification.

Henry Sowizral
Kevin Rushforth
Michael Deering
Sun Microsystems
November 1997 0201325764P04062001

From the Back Cover:

This book represents the definitive Java 3D API specification, providing authoritative and detailed descriptions of each element of the API. It offers an informative overview of Java 3D, comprehensive instructions for "scene graph" definition and construction, and a detailed description of the Java 3D View Model, an innovative model enabling applications to be displayed on a wide array of devices.

Comprehensive and definitive, this book is an essential reference for any Java programmer interested in entering the exciting world of three-dimensional Internet applications. 0201325764B04062001

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