At 15:11 31.07.00 -0700, you wrote:
>Hi:
>
>Should we use JFrame of Frame when writing apps in Java3d?
>
>Thank you,
>
>drew
Hello Drew,
DISCLAIMER: I'm just a humble beginner in Java3D programming. I work mostly
with Sun's tutorials, common sense and trial-and-error.
First of all, I've tried both Frame and JFrame and both work with no problem.
You need to decide based on what you want, as follows:
If it's an Applet, you probably want to minimize download time. Maybe your user
doesn't have the Swing classes installed. The AWT stuff (Frame) offers fewer
capabilities but you may find them sufficient, and it's usually a bit less
work to
code for.
If you plan on having a GUI outside of the 3DCanvas (where the 3D scene is),
and if that GUI is to be at all advanced or fancy, you will want to use Swing
(JFrame) to wrap the whole works in.
The 3DCanvas (the component your scene is displayed on) is heavyweight and
therefore "fits in" better with AWT than Swing. For example, I don't think
you can
open Swing menus over top of a 3DCanvas. But if you're aware of the
limitations,
you can probably work around them.
Beyond this meager advice, there's a whole book dedicated to the topic of 3D
GUIs. The author often talks about a concept he calls "Swing 3D", but I haven't
read far enough to know whether he implements this stuff using Swing or AWT.
You may find this book very useful for your projects; he provides a GUI
framework
that may save you a lot of work. Here's where to find it:
http://www.manning.com/Barrilleaux/index.html
If I remember correctly, it's only $13.90 for the downloadable PDF version,
which
I consider definitely well worth it. I'm not sure if it's available in
printed form yet.
Enjoy!
-Carl-
===========================================================================
To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and include in the body
of the message "signoff JAVA3D-INTEREST". For general help, send email to
[EMAIL PROTECTED] and include in the body of the message "help".
