Online 3d

Eggert · August 12, 2003, 6:46pm

I’m in the process of setting up my website and would really like to have available some 3d demos / mini-games online, that is inside the browser.

I’ve been looking around some and ended up looking at java. Then I accidentally bumped into jogl and thats just brilliant since I have some experience with c++/opengl.

I’ve got some jogl demo applications running but when I try to turn them into applets I get noclassdeffound (some word) error when compiling.

Therefor I ask you smarter (at least in java programming terms) people, Is it possible to run jogl in a java applet and/or should I be looking into something else?

appreciate any feedback.

gregorypierce · August 12, 2003, 7:02pm

The problem is getting the JOGL native libraries into your browsers classpath which has always been a complete pain in the ass - even with the Java Plugin. I was working on an installer that would drop those native libraries in places where the plugin would look - but got sidetracked with 500 other things.

Maybe the Sun folks could comment on the best way to do that

DanK · August 13, 2003, 12:22am

What’s wrong with the way it’s done with java web start on the jogl site? I was actually kind of impressed by how well that worked, I don’t want to explain to people how to get jogl installed on their machines and the method used there was pretty seemless I thought. The only downside was it didn’t seem to cache the jar files.

https://jogl-demos.dev.java.net/webstart/GearsTmp.jnlp

athomas · August 13, 2003, 2:11am

[quote]The only downside was it didn’t seem to cache the jar files.
[/quote]
The caching problem has to do with the way the java.net web servers are configured. We’re working with them now to resolve this problem.

kevglass · August 13, 2003, 4:19am

I think the original question from Eggert was about applets as opposed to web start. Web start assumes you’re a developer really at the moment (well unless your user is nice enough to go and down load web start 1.0.1 seperatly). Also, it has a different feel to it.

How do you use native libraries in an applet?

Kev

Eggert · August 13, 2003, 6:58am

What I’m really trying to find is the way to make my 3d contents available to the “I’ve got no clue about computers” type of users with as little effort as possible on their behalf.

Maybe I should be looking at something completely else like some plug-in design software but I like to do some programming and jogl seems to be cool at first glance 8)

Eggert

kevglass · August 13, 2003, 7:16am

Hmm, in that case maybe webstart is for you. Its pretty damn simple, and aslong as you get the user to pick the latest JRE (which you’ll have to do anyway) it should be ok. I’ve been informed that webstart comes with the latest JRE as a standard…

Kev

Eggert · August 13, 2003, 6:48pm

Thanks for all your feedback. I will go and check out webstart. If that’s coming with the jre it’s what I was looking for.

I’m still going to give the applets a little more attention since I don’t like to give up on something I’ve started.

Anyway, thanks again

Vrml_Java_Animator · August 15, 2003, 6:04pm

The Simpler Solution may be the Better Solution.

If you want to do 3d in a browser ( as you said you did ) … and using OpenGL creates problems …

then maybe it would be better to avoid using OpenGL.

I’ve done it the simpler way, and it works great.

[quote]I’m in the process of setting up my website and would really like to have available some 3d demos / mini-games online, that is inside the browser. …

I’ve got some jogl demo applications running but when I try to turn them into applets I get noclassdeffound (some word) error when compiling.

Therefor I ask … Is it possible to run jogl in a java applet and/or

should I be looking into something else?

appreciate any feedback.
[/quote]
Just Java 1.1 is more than enough to solve your problem:

[tr][td] 3d & 3d Animation with Just Java 1.1

The 3 human figures center & clockwise around ( face, girl standing, human hand ) … all use nothing but Java 1.1, it works, it’s simple.

[/td][/tr][tr][td]

http://www.frontiernet.net/~imaging/sc_java_human_animation.jpg

[/tr][/td]

[quote]The problem is getting the JOGL native libraries into your browsers classpath which has always been a complete pain in the ass - even with the Java Plugin …
[/quote]
If it hurts when you do that … don’t do that.

[quote]I think the original question from Eggert was about applets as opposed to web start. …

How do you use native libraries in an applet?

Kev
[/quote]
Right, and the applet by itself is all he needs.

Forcing someone on modem to download 4+ Megs ( the Java 1.3.1 JRE )
is not very web friendly.

The original poster didn’t suggest he needed the most wiz-bang-fancy graphics.

The “Best Solution” for the given problem may be to
live with the installed VM and not require & force OpenGL
and the latest VM.

You can do 3d in a browser with Java without JOGL / OpenGL.

And expecting relative newbies to learn Java and the OpenGL binding
may scare away the newbies, and overburden them.

The simpler solution may be the better solution.

Java does 3d without JOGL / Webstart / OpenGL

3d Applets from Sun: java.sun.com/applets

http://java.sun.com/applets/
http://java.sun.com/applets/jdk/1.1/demo/MoleculeViewer/example3.html
http://java.sun.com/applets/jdk/1.1/demo/MoleculeViewer/XYZApp.java

http://java.sun.com/applets/jdk/1.1/demo/WireFrame/example3.html
http://java.sun.com/applets/jdk/1.1/demo/WireFrame/ThreeD.java

From the new Sun site: Java.net

3d applet from dev.java.net ( press: [ Run GUI Shell ] )

https://raytracershell.dev.java.net/

Java & Games & Human Animation & Commercial Products

http://www.mascotcapsule.com/top_ev.html

Easy 3d in your browser with Java w/o Webstart or OpenGL

http://www.frontiernet.net/~imaging/java3dviewer.html
http://www.frontiernet.net/~imaging/H-Anim_Avatars.html

Gosling was able to do some pretty neat Java without OpenGL.

I’m not against OpenGL and accelerated 3d graphics

( the other 3 3d images shown above were created with OpenGL,
Java3d on Linux, and the more complicated two used VRML & the Sun VRML Loaders ).

Use what’s best for the task.

The combination of Webstart & OpenGL is an overkill for the problem
described by the original poster.

Perhaps the original post should have gone to, or follow up in:

[b]
General Game Topics / Newless Clewbies

http://www.java-gaming.org/cgi-bin/JGNetForums/YaBB.cgi?board=newbies
[/b]

– Paul, Java Developer & Web Animator.

cfmdobbie · August 15, 2003, 6:55pm

Paul, please don’t do that. :-/

You don’t need oversize graphics, a mixture of italic and bold, a plethora of links and really, really painful formatting to make your point - surely a single plain paragraph would have done?