3D on the Web - Pure Java Applets
While there is a lot of buzz about the new Java3D API, applets based on pure Java
continue to dominate the 3D applet scene. Most users have a copy of Java, but do
not have Java3D on their machine and are not willing to take the time to download
the very installation files. Given the ongoing disagreemnents between Microsoft and Sun,
it appears unlikely that Java3D will ever be included in the Windows distribution CDs.
While this all shakes out - there's always Pure Java!
 Pure Java Applets
Sample Images
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Pure Java Applets
I've read that there are "hundreds" of 3D applets on the web. I guess it depends on what
you include in the definition of "3D applets", but by my count there are well under fifty
Pure Java, general purpose, 3D object viewing applets available for download and use
by webmasters.
With these applets, all you have to do is direct your browser to the URL where the
applet is used. As part of displaying the page, your browser will download the Java applet
and use it within the HTML page to display the site 3D content. Files required by
the applet will also be downloaded automatically - including 3D object files.
Some 3D engines simply read a data file and display the objects found within the file.
Other engines are written to display a specific 3D scene and require that the applet be
recompiled if the scene changes.
Both applets and data files range very widely in size. Applets and data files can each
be as much over 200K bytes in size - large enough only an inquisitive site visitor will
take the time to wait for the download. There are alos several solutions whose combined
applet-data file sizes are well under 100K.
You'll have to decide what makes sense for your site. If your visitor is from a company
with a T3 connection, the file size is not so critical and even a 500K download might be
considered acceptable. If your typical visitor is dialing in over a modem, then small
file sizes are very critical and a 50K download is considered fairly large.
Another differentiating criteria for Java 3D engines is the way in which the image is created.
Some applets require that an image be created on a custom application, then stored on the
server for retrieval by site visitors. Other applets create the 3D object files real-time,
either by calling a CGI script to create the image or by creating the image with the applet
itself. Generally, most applets work by reading a pre-generated file and displaying an
image according to the instructions in the 3D object file.
All of the applets listed below are written in pure Java. They do not use the recently released
Java3D. Applets in green are not free. Applets in yellow are free. Generally, the best free
applets are placed at the top and the best commercial ones are at the bottom - but the placement
is not very accurate and the assessment is a subjective one, so please check them out for yourself.
Those applets marked "free*" are free only for non-commercial applications and may include an
advertising banner in the display.
The rating that I've assigned tries to take into account how useful the code/applets will be
to webmasters. Good image quality and small download size are important, as are feature breadth
and number of file formats supported. The bad thing about most of the commercial applets is that you
are required to use the vendor's file editor to create the image, typically a proprietary or
non-standard format. As I learn more about each applet I'm sure I'll move their ratings around.
If you have any suggestions or think I've missed the mark, let me know and I'll take a closer look!
| # | Rating | Name | Author | Cost | Source Code | File Formats | Comments
|
|---|
| 1
| 
| 3-D Java Viewer
| Eric Harlow
| free
| yes JC
| VRML
| good quality, no colors
|
| 2
|
| 3D Mesh Viewer
| Re_Invigorate
| free
| no
| not disclosed
| called open source, but author has no download links
|
| 3
|
| 3D Objects Viewer
| Thomas Dunn
| free
| yes JC
|
| smooth, gray-scale object viewer
|
| 4
| 
| 3D Renderer
| Ken Perlin
| free*
| yes JC
| not disclosed
| Really wide range of applications, with demos by author
|
| 5
|
| 3D SOM
| Canon
| free
| no
| proprietary (uses images to build model)
| have to use Canon editor to create the models, can export 3DS, VRML, Shockwave 3D, Mascot Capsule
|
| 6
| 
| 3D Structure Viewer
| Vau
| free
| no C
| not disclosed
| excellent looking tube structures. author has no download links for viewer or source code
|
| 7
|
| 3D Lite
| Dan Meany
| free
| yes JC
| 3ds
| looks good but not much documentation, just the applet itself and a single example
|
| 8
|
| ADG
| Albatross
| $150 or free*
| no
| proprietary
| Quality is excellent but must use their file creation software
|
| 9
|
| Anfy 3D Player
| Fabio Ciucci
| $20 per domain or free*b
| no
| undisclosed
| looks good but very limited site information
|
| 10
|
| Browser 3D
| Andre Cioroianu
| free
| yes JC
| undisclosed
| limited features, but GUI works smoothly
|
| 11
|
| BSC3DView
| Byte-Sized Computing
| $25
| no
| binary STL
| specifically for viewing STL files, limited features
|
| 12
|
| Convex Hull 3D
| Tim Lambert
| free
| yes JC
| undisclosed
| works smoothly, but features focussed on display of specific mathematical algorithms
|
| 13
|
| Dynamic-3D
| 3D-Online
| $895/site per year or free*b
| no
| Shout3D, VRML97
| used to be Eyematic, owners of Shout3D
|
| 14
|
| gbViewer
| Gary Beene
| free
| yes JC
| STL, TOV
| general purpose file viewer
|
| 15
|
| Hotmedia
| IBM
| $95 (as part of HomePage Builder)
| no
| proprietary
| excellent image but limited access to formats/software
|
| 16
|
| idx3dIII
| Peter Walser
| free*
| yes JC
| 3DS
| many features, very good image quality. 2000.
|
| 17
|
| Java 3D Viewer
| Paul Flavin
| free
| no C
| obj, nff, off
| 2002 update. no download links for viewer or source code
|
| 18
|
| JavaView
| Konrad Polthier
| free
| no C
| jvx, obj, byu, stl, wrl, dxf, fe, off
| includes Mathematica and Maple integration
|
| 19
|
| Jazz3D
| SyGem
| $250 ($35 lite version for non-commercial)
| no (negotiable fee)
| 3DS, ASC, GEM, GEO, LWO, NFF, OBJ, PLG, VRML
| multiple image formats ... good image quality
|
| 20
|
| jGL
| Robin Chen
| free
| yes JC
| OOGF
| 3D graphics library for Java, 2003 update
|
| 21
|
| JGV
| Daeron Meyer
| free*
| yes JC
| OOGL
| 1998
|
| 22
|
| LiveGraphics3D
| Martin Kraus
| free*
| no C
| Mathematica output
| not a general purpose file viewer
|
| 23
|
| Obj3D
| Enscath Boldizsar
| free
| yes JC
| modified 3DS
| wide range of features
|
| 24
|
| Polyhedra Applet
| Evgeny Demidov
| free
| yes JC
| VRML
| basic object viewer, no color
|
| 25
|
| ROffView
| Ryan Holmes
| free
| yes J(C++)C
| OFF
| pretty limited features, although web site is a bit vague
|
| 26
|
| Rotate
| Daniel Abplanalp
| free
| yes JC
| undisclosed
| basic feature set but no GUI
|
| 27
|
| Scene 3D
| Jon Voiculescu
| free
| yes JC
| not disclosed
| includes raytracing
|
| 28
|
| Sun Java SDK
| Sun
| free
| yes JC
| obj
| sample wireframe and molecule viewers
|
| 29
|
| Sumea::engine
| Sumea
| undisclosed
| no
| undisclosed
| looks excellent, but very little info on web site
|
| 30
|
| ThreeD Applet
| Dave Marshall
| free
| yes JC
| obj
| very limited but useful for code review
|
| 31
|
| TOV
| Chunyen Liu
| $40 per site
| source code extra cost
| proprietary
| limited features but works well within those bounds
|
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Pure Java Applets - Sample Images
Most of the applets can be viewed in functional mode at their respective websites.
But to give you the flavor of each, here's a sample image from each of the applets.
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