VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language, pronounced vermal or by its initials, originally known as the Virtual Reality Markup Language) is a standard file format for representing 3-dimensional (3D) interactive vector graphics, designed particularly with the World Wide Web in mind. This article is about the simulation technology. ... A file format is a particular way to encode information for storage in a computer file. ... The rewrite of this article is being devised at Talk:3D computer graphics/Temp. ... Example showing effect of vector graphics versus raster graphics. ... WWWs historical logo designed by Robert Cailliau The World Wide Web (commonly shortened to the Web) is a system of interlinked, hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. ...

Format

VRML is a text file format where, e.g., vertices and edges for a 3D polygon can be specified along with the surface color, UV mapped textures, shininess, transparency, and so on. URLs can be associated with graphical components so that a web browser might fetch a web-page or a new VRML file from the Internet when the user clicks on the specific graphical component. Animations, sounds, lighting, and other aspects of the virtual world can interact with the user or may be triggered by external events such as timers. A special Script Node allows the addition of program code (e.g., written in Java or JavaScript (ECMAScript)) to a VRML file. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Plain text. ... In geometry, a vertex (plural vertices) is a special kind of point, usually a corner of a polygon, polyhedron, or higher dimensional polytope. ... Look up polygon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A checkered sphere, without and with UV mapping. ... Spherical texture mapping Texture mapping is a method, pioneered by Edwin Catmull, of adding detail, surface texture, or colour to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. ... Specularity is the quality used in many 3D Rendering programs to set the size and the brightness of a textures reflection to light. ... Transparent glass ball In optics, transparency is the property of allowing light to pass. ... “URL” redirects here. ... As a noun, a graphic usually refers to a computer image or picture, or an infographic, such as a chart. ... An example of a Web browser (Mozilla Firefox) A web browser is a software application that enables a user to display and interact with text, images, videos, music and other information typically located on a Web page at a website on the World Wide Web or a local area network. ... The bouncing ball animation (below) consists of these 6 frames. ... This article is about audible acoustic waves. ... Not to be confused with lightning. ... Aspect is a piece of information about a topic, usually on look and appearance. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Event-driven programming is a computer programming paradigm. ... A simple digital timer. ... In Computer Science program code can refer to: Source code Machine code Category: ... Java language redirects here. ... JavaScript is a scripting language most often used for client-side web development. ...

VRML files are commonly called "worlds" and have the *.wrl extension (for example island.wrl). Although VRML worlds use a text format they may often be compressed using gzip so that they transfer over the internet more quickly. Many 3D modeling programs can save objects and scenes in VRML format. A filename extension is a suffix to the name of a computer file applied to show its format. ... gzip is a software application used for file compression. ... The rewrite of this article is being devised at Talk:3D computer graphics/Temp. ... An object in image processing is an identifiable portion of an image that can be interpreted as a single unit. ... Scene may refer to: Scene (fiction), an element of a larger fictional work such as a play Scene (film), a part of action in a single location in a TV or movie Scene (music), a collection of musical acts that play regularly in one location. ...

 #VRML V2.0 utf8 # Red cone Shape { appearance Appearance { material Material { diffuseColor 1 0 0 } } geometry Cone { bottomRadius 0.75 height 1.6 } } 

Standardization

The Web3D Consortium has been formed to further the collective development of the format. The Web3D Consortium is a not-for-profit, member-funded industry consortium whose purpose is to define and develop the X3D royalty-free open standards file format and runtime architecture to represent and communicate 3D scenes. ...

The first version of VRML was specified in November 1994. This version was specified from, and very closely resembled, the API and file format of the Open Inventor software component, originally developed by SGI. The current and functionally complete version is VRML97 (ISO/IEC 14772-1:1997). VRML has now been superseded by X3D (ISO/IEC 19775-1) Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... API and Api redirect here. ... A file format is a particular way to encode information for storage in a computer file. ... Open Inventor, originally IRIS Inventor, is a C++ object oriented retained mode 3D graphics API designed by SGI to provide a higher layer of programming for OpenGL. Its main goals are better programmer convenience and efficiency. ... Software component representations: above the representation used in UML, below the representation commonly used by Microsofts COM objects. ... Silicon Graphics, Inc. ... X3D is the ISO standard for real-time 3D computer graphics, the successor to Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML). ...

Emergence, popularity, and rival technical upgrade

The term VRML was coined by Dave Raggett in a paper submitted to The First International Conference on the World-Wide Web in 1994, and first discussed at the WWW94 VRML BOF established by Tim Berners-Lee, where Mark Pesce presented the Labyrinth demo he developed with Tony Parisi & Peter Kennard. Sir Tim Berners-Lee Sir Tim (Timothy John) Berners-Lee, KBE (TimBL or TBL) (b. ... Mark Pesce in downtown Sydney, Australia Mark Pesce, (December 8, 1962) one of the early pioneers in practical Virtual Reality, is a writer, teacher, and high technologist living in Sydney, Australia. ... Meanings of Labyrinth: In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate maze constructed for King Minos of Crete. ...

VRML reached the height of its popularity after the release of VRML2 in 1997, when it was used on some personal homepages and sites such as "CyberTown", which offered 3D chat using Blaxxun Software. The format had been championed by SGI's Cosmo Software; when SGI restructured in 1998 the division was sold to Platinum Technologies, which was then taken over by Computer Associates, which did not develop or distribute the software. To fill the void a variety of proprietary Web 3D formats emerged over the next few years, including Microsoft Chrome and Adobe Atmosphere, neither of which is supported today. VRML's capabilities remained largely the same while realtime 3D graphics kept improving. The VRML Consortium changed its name to the Web3D Consortium, and began work on the successor to VRML – X3D. SGI is a TLA for at least three separate entities: Saskatchewan Government Insurance Scientific Games International Silicon Graphics, Incorporated Soka Gakkai International This page expands a three-character combination which might be any or all of: an abbreviation, an acronym, an initialism, a word in English, or a word in... CA, Inc. ... Adobe Atmosphere (often abbreviated Atmo; formerly 3D Anarchy) is a 3D computer graphics creation product created by Attitude Software. ... The Web3D Consortium is a not-for-profit, member-funded industry consortium whose purpose is to define and develop the X3D royalty-free open standards file format and runtime architecture to represent and communicate 3D scenes. ... X3D is the ISO standard for real-time 3D computer graphics, the successor to Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML). ...

H-Anim is a standard for animated Humanoids, which is based around VRML, and later X3D. The initial version 1.0 of the H-Anim standard was scheduled for submission at the end of March 1998.

VRML enjoys widespread use, particularly in education and research where an open specification is most valued. It has now been re-engineered as X3D. The MPEG-4 Interactive Profile (ISO/IEC 14496) was based on VRML (now on X3D), and X3D is largely backward-compatible with it. VRML is also widely used as a file format for interchange of 3D models, particularly from CAD systems. VRML may have declined in publicity and number of major browser companines, but not in use. X3D is the ISO standard for real-time 3D computer graphics, the successor to Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML). ... MPEG-4 is a standard used primarily to compress audio and visual (AV) digital data. ... CAD is a TLA that may stand for: Cadiz Railroad (AAR reporting mark CAD) Canadian dollar – ISO 4217-code Capital Adequacy Directive Card Acceptance Device Children of the Anachronistic Dynasty Computer-aided design Computer-aided detection (medical) Computer-aided diagnosis (medical) Computer-assisted dispatch Computer-assisted drafting Coronary artery disease...

See also

• 3DML
• Active Worlds
• Flux (software)
• List of vector graphics markup languages
• OLE Automation
• X3D

3DML is a format for creating a kind of 3 dimensional websites. ... Active Worlds (AW) is a 3D virtual reality platform. ... Intervista WorldView Flux Player 2. ... The following is a list of vector graphics markup languages. ... OLE Automation is a late-binding extension to COM and IUnknown. ... X3D is the ISO standard for real-time 3D computer graphics, the successor to Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML). ...

External links

Documentation

• VRML Archives
• VRML Annotated Reference
• VRML ISO/IEC 14772 standard document
• VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) and X3D
• Extensible 3D: XML Meets VRML
• Web3D Consortium
• H-Anim working group

Plugins and Viewers

• VRML Plugin and Browser Detector Determines which VRML and X3D plugins are installed in your web browser
• Review of VRML Plugins
• Cortona3D Viewer VRML plugin for Windows, Mac, and PocketPC
• Octaga Player VRML/X3D plugin and standalone viewer for Windows and Linux
• Flux Player VRML/X3D plugin and standalone viewer for Windows, source code available
• BS Contact VRML/X3D plugin, also stereo, mobile, and Java applet versions
• Cosmo Player One of the original VRML plugins, still works great
• InstantPlayer Standalone VRML/X3D viewer for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux
• blaxxun Contact VRML plugin for Windows, also Java applet version
• FreeWRL VRML/X3D plugin and standalone viewer for Linux and Mac OS X, source code included
• OpenVRML VRML/X3D plugin and standalone viewer for Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows, source code included
• SwirlX3D VRML/X3D plugin and standalone viewer for Windows
• VCollab VRML plugin (Microsoft Internet Explorer and Office) and standalone viewer for Windows
• Xj3D Java based VRML/X3D toolkit and viewer
• Demotride Standalone VRML viewer for Windows
• Orbisnap Standalone VRML viewer for Windows, Linux, Solaris, Mac, and HP-UX
• Deep View Standalone 3D file format viewer that imports VRML, shows a tree view of the scene graph
• Myriad 3D Reader Standalone viewer that imports VRML, shows a tree view of the scene graph
• The xVRML Project and Carina Viewer An alternative with VRML97 and X3D import
• !VRML a VRML Browser for Risc OS (no longer being developed)
• SIM VRMLview Standalone viewer of VRML models (no longer being developed)
• Mozilla plugins for Windows, Linux and other OS

VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language, usually pronounced vermal) is a standard file format for representing 3-dimensional (3D) interactive vector graphics, designed particularly with the World Wide Web in mind. ...

Tools

• Viewlife Web3D authoring tool without DirectX plug-in importing VRML files
• White_Dune Open source graphical VRML97/X3DV editor
• Chisel Free VRML optimization tool, Java-based so it runs anywhere
• Flux Studio Free Web3D authoring tool
• VRMLpad VRML Editor
• VizUp Free VRML polygon reducer
• VRML to X3D Translator
• VRML97 and X3D Converter software to merge VRML97 visualizations into one file and convert VRML to X3D
• VRML Editor an almost free VRML Editor given good reviews by PC Magazine
• WireFusion Web3D authoring tool for Windows, Mac and Linux. Includes a VRML viewer with Java API
• ChefX3D Authoring tool creation toolkit for VRML and X3D

Open Source Implementations

• Flux Player Free Web 3D (XML/VRML) browser plug-in for Windows, Open Source
• FreeWRL VRML and X3D browser for Linux, Unix and OS X
• Xj3D Java based VRML/X3D Toolkit and VRML/X3D Browser
• OpenVRML a cross-platform VRML library
• CyberX3D C++ and Java libraries for VRML
• OpenSG a scene graph API supporting VRML97
• Coin3D SDK software component supporting VRML97

VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language, usually pronounced vermal) is a standard file format for representing 3-dimensional (3D) interactive vector graphics, designed particularly with the World Wide Web in mind. ... OpenSG is a scenegraph system for virtual reality applications based on OpenGL. It runs on IRIX, Microsoft Windows and Linux. ...

Open Source Programs that Export VRML

• Wings 3D 3D modeling software with static VRML97 export
• Blender 3D modeling, animation, rendering software with static VRML97 and VRML 1.0 export
• White_Dune VRML graphical editor, animationtool and simple (NURBS)modeller
• HoloDraw Reads X Y Z data files and generates VRML
• Art of Illusion 3D modeller with static VRML97 export
• SharpContruct 3D modeller with static VRML97 export
• Antiprism Command line tools to create and manipulate polyhedral 3D models with static VRML97 export
• BRL-CAD

Wings 3D is a free and open source polygon mesh modeler inspired by Nendo and Mirai from Izware. ... Blender is a free software 3D animation program. ... BRL-CAD is a constructive solid geometry (CSG) solid modeling computer-aided design (CAD) system. ...

Virtual World Servers that support VRML

• ABNet2 provides 3D multi-user collaboration and chat for VRML and X3D
• VRMLWorld.net provides 3D multi-user collaboration and chat for VRML and X3D
• Blaxxun Technologies Multi-user 3d client/server platform
• 3dchat frameset Files required to use the Blaxxun Public 3dchat Server

Examples and Community

• Siggraph97 SGI VRML Course (mirrored from now defunct SGI site)
• web3d.about.com (1997-2002 weekly VRML & Web3D articles mirrored from now defunct About.com site)
• comp.lang.vrml Newsgroup
• VRML Email List
• The X3D Experience an X3D/vrml showcase website
• Poetic Pantheon by Norman T. Thornton (3D Virtual Reality web application to house poetry ergodic / concrete) presented by PoeticWrites.org
• 3D Virtual Reality Models using VRML VRML models of the World Trade Center and 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Collection of ~1000 virtual worlds Listed alphabetically with an image and link for each world, single-user-mode/multi-user-mode
• VRInternal VRML/X3D showcase website
• Grafman's VR World CGI-based VRML generation and Java/EAI examples
• Sample VRML code, and VRML-writing code, including Cyberspace's First Mobius Strip (circa 1995)
• FVRML function-based extension of VRML
• LSKC VRML Team a school VRML Team led by Mr. Yip Chee Yan in Hong Kong
• Volgograd METROTRAM 3D VRML model of hybrid rapid tram subway system in Russia, includes single user and multi user modes
• Virtual Groninger Museum VRML model of the Groninger Museum in The Netherlands, includes SingleUser and MultiUser modes