So I should probably also put in a statement about what I would like to see, just for completeness. Although it is hard to separate Yumetech and me, I'll try to offer two opinions - one for each.
Personal:
I'd like to be able to access chunks of Java3D technology, but really couldn't care less about the whole thing - regardless of whether it is open sourced or not. There are several fundamental design flaws in the API that make it extremely difficult to create a real working application with that is correct (for example: transform updates to the viewpoint take 2 frames to propogate, but geometry only takes one making applications that are view-dependent, like terrain rendering, close to impossible to write with correct visuals). It is going to take a lot of work to do something useful with it. It would be better to start with a fresh look and pull the useful bits and lessons learned from Java3D. At this point, I think it has passed its used-by date.
Company:
Would prefer complete release of the source. As a (small) company who's business model is based around contracting and consulting services for open source software, it would be another thing that we could offer as services to clients (either new or existing). It would also mean that we could guarantee future stability to some of our existing customers. At this point they are _extremely_ nervous about what's happening and are actively seeking alternative strategies. Having source would give long-term guarantee that their existing investments will continue to be useful. It would also allow us to fix a number of existing issues that we have in our code that we cannot do anything about. Right now, we're hedging our bets. If we don't get source within then next 6 weeks, we'll be actively moving away from Java3D to our own, already existing, scene graph architecture. We can't afford to wait around for promises of stuff that never shows - like has been for the past 2 years.
-- Justin Couch http://www.vlc.com.au/~justin/ Java Architect & Bit Twiddler http://www.yumetech.com/ Author, Java 3D FAQ Maintainer http://www.j3d.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------- "Humanism is dead. Animals think, feel; so do machines now. Neither man nor woman is the measure of all things. Every organism processes data according to its domain, its environment; you, with all your brains, would be useless in a mouse's universe..." - Greg Bear, Slant -------------------------------------------------------------------
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