> Date: Thu, 28 Nov 2002 10:01:10 +1030 > From: "Weber, Derek" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > I've found a way to create a Java3D view with a Canvas3D, a Viewer, and a > ViewingPlatform, rather than using a View, ViewPlatform, PhysicalBody and > PhysicalEnvironment. > > Given that it works, I'm wondering whether there are any particular benefits > to changing it to the View/ViewPlatform solution. I'm afraid I don't really > understand the differences.
View and ViewPlatform are part of the core Java 3D API defined by the Java 3D Specification (in javax.media.j3d), while Viewer and ViewingPlatform are utilities (in com.sun.j3d.util.universe) built upon the core API. A scene graph can be thought of as having two main branches: the content side containing the virtual world, and the view side which controls how the virtual world is viewed. The content side is what usually distinguishes an application, while the view side contains mostly the same basic structures: a BranchGroup containing one or more TransformGroups terminating in a ViewPlatform, to which a View containing one or more Canvas3Ds and possibly an avatar or audio device is attached. The universe utilities provide these common structures with the ViewingPlatform and Viewer classes respectively. They can be created directly but are usually created as part of a SimpleUniverse or ConfiguredUniverse. Other than their convenience, the main advantage of Viewer and ViewingPlatform is that they provide a mechanism to attach other structures such as avatars, platform geometry, and behaviors such as OrbitBehavior. You probably won't lose anything by continuing to use Viewer and ViewingPlatform since you can still always access the View and ViewPlatform core classes when you need them. On the other hand, your application may have greater requirements than the pre-packaged functions of these utilities can conveniently provide, so you may prefer to work directly with the core API instead. -- Mark Hood =========================================================================== 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".
