I brought this up a few months ago, but got no response. I think the
biggest problem with Java2D and Java3D is that they aren't the same
API. I'm using OpenGL for 2D and it works well. Java2D has more
features, and I'd use it instead if it had performance anywhere close to
OpenGL, but it doesn't so far. It's amazing that Java2D and Java3D have
this problem considering they were both designed after OpenGL 1.1 was
available. There was a completely good model to extend, but it was
ignored. Instead, Java2D became a portable way to take advantage of
Windows GDI. By implementing Java2D on top of GDI, you don't have to
write all the code for sending graphics to printers and other devices,
but you still have to write that code for platforms that don't have GDI
or something similar. Why not write Java2D on top of OpenGL and be done
with the screen graphics part of the code, and just be resigned to
making a little more effort to get printed output on Windows? OpenGL
1.1 is available for every platform that is half-way serious about
graphics. Hardware accelerators are abundant and getting more common
all the time.
People often call OpenGL the assembly language of graphics APIs, but I
think it is one step higher than that. You don't need to know anything
about the underlying hardware or rasterize lines and polygons yourself.
Implementing Java2D on top of OpenGL would be something like
implementing C++ with STL on top of C. OpenGL doesn't provide direct
font support, but font lists can be created and displayed. Image
manipulation is at a much lower level than Java2D, but all the
transformations are built in.
I can understand why Java2D and Java3D weren't merged. One big
high-level 2D/3D screen graphics/printing API with support for zillions
of fonts and all the popular image and object formats would be the
ultimate. But it could be 2005 before they got RC 1 out the door.
Implementing a new grahics API is a lot of work, and it's usually
half-way through the implementation that people realize that designing
the API should have been the real work. I half-expect Java2D to go the
way of AWT by 2005 and be replaced by the above API under some moniker
like "Cha Cha." In the mean time, we could at least get a bump in
performance by utilizing GL.
John Donovan
U.S. Geological Survey
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
PHAM Bich Thuy MAGNET CNET/DIH/REN wrote:
>
> Hi Paul,
>
> I also think that it would be great to have 2D and 3D homogeneous. I don't
> know if using the Java3D API for the 2D is the best solution. I've just
> heard, by several SUN sources, that they were trying to mix 2D and 3D. Does
> it means that we will have one API replacing the 2D and the 3D APIs ? How
> can the two different projects converge together if they have begun their
> work with different concepts ?
> I'm also worried about the 2D and 3D perfomances, but as SUN people seem to
> work on it, my requests concern more the 2D/3D integration and overlapping.
> I need to display 2D and 3D worlds, so will it be possible in future APIs to
> render 2D animation overlapped on a 3D area ?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Bich-Thuy
>
> > ----------
> > De : Kerbiriou Paul[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> > R�pondre � : Kerbiriou Paul
> > Date : lundi 28 juin 1999 11:34
> > A : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Objet : Re: [JAVA2D] 2d api w/ OGL : I VOTE FOR THAT, and you Bich
> > Thuy?
> >
> > I agree totally on this comment. We are trying to build application where
> > 2D
> > and 3D has to be homogeneous. With Java 2D it is impossible today to
> > project
> > a texture on a polygon that is itself submitted to animated
> > transformations.
> > It is very astonishing that 2D is so slow while 3D graphics requiring so
> > much resources and is faster and faster.
> > The 2D graphics can be incorporated in the 3D vision of what is a scene.
> > The feasibility to port Java 2D on OGL is possible, and I think the only
> > problem for Sun can be development resources.
> > I VOTE FOR THAT.
> >
> > Paul
> >
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Thomas McKay [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> > > Sent: Thursday, June 24, 1999 9:34 PM
> > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > > Subject: [JAVA2D] 2d api w/ OGL
> > >
> > > I just returned from the Design Automation Conference (DAC) in New
> > > Orleans where I visited Sun's booth and chatted about Java performance.
> > > They had a Java3D demo there that was very impressive. When I asked why
> > > the 2D didn't have similar performance the answer I got was that 3D is
> > > built on top of OGL. I suggested that they provide an implementation of
> > > the 2D api on OGL as well. I'm not familiar with the 3D world in
> > > general and OGL in particular. Anyone have any thoughts on the
> > > feasibility of this? Perhaps performance-minded applications should use
> > > the 3D api for 2D as well? As always, though, what about other platform
> > > support?
> > >
> > >
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