MCIS 625: Computer Graphics
Winter 2004
SOFTWARE
Instructor: Dr. Michael Laszlo
Using VRML
To view VRML programs, you need to download and install a VRML 2.0 plugin for your graphical browser. I recommend the use of Cortona or CosmoPlayer, both of which are free.
To write VRML programs, you can use any text editor that can save in ASCII (plain text) format (although for debugging purposes, it helps to use an editor that can display line numbers). Files containing your VRML code should have the extension .wrl. Notepad, wordpad, and MS Word are sufficient, although they lack the line-numbering feature. I like to use Macromedia's HomeSite (originally developed by Allaire), an HTML editor that is also useful for VRML although is not VRML-savvy. Even better is vrmlpad, a fairly inexpensive VRML editor, but note that its use is not required for this course and that any text editor will do.
VRML is run from your browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. But first, you must download and install a VRML 2.0 plugin as noted at the top of this page. When your browser visits a VRML file (with .wrl extension), the plugin loads automatically and displays the world. You can find many VRML sites on the internet. Just go to the Web3D Repository for links to galleries, or search for VRML using your favorite search engine. You may also view VRML files that reside on your local hard drive (this is probably what you will do to test VRML code that you write). Simply open the file in your browser, and the browser will load the installed plugin and display the file as a 3D virtual world. Here is a zip file of sample worlds that you can try out on your local drive.
VRML programming is an iterative process: write or revise your code, save it, load your program into your browser and review the results. Some products (such as vrmlpad) integrate a VRML previewer into its environment. When you install your VRML plugin, make sure you can view VRML files that are saved on your local hard drive as well as fetched over the Internet. If you have questions on or difficulties with setting up and using VRML, please post to our course forum.
VRML References
The Web3D Repository is a good resource for VRML information on the Web.
Here are my two favorite VRML books:
Ames A, D. Nadeau, and J. Moreland, VRML 2.0 Sourcebook, John Wiley and Sons, 1997.
Carey R, and G. Bell, The Annotated VRML 97 Reference Manual, Addison-Wesley, 1997.
The Annotated VRML 97 Reference Manual, which appears online, is unusually readable for a manual. (Note that VRML 2.0 and VRML 97 are two names for the same language.) The VRML Sourcebook is a clear, comprehensive tutorial, and is the better of the two for just getting started. Also see my bibliography for references.