Hi Will, > > What *technical* reasons are there for moving away from Java 3D? > > I have two: dependence on a closed source API and lack of communication from > the API developer. Communication is a vital part of Information Technology > as is highlighted by this case even if it isn't strictly "technical". > . . . > Now I don't think any of this spills across to Java - obviously Sun has a very > good commercial case for continuing that, so I shall be using Java, open > source 3D graphics but sadly no longer Java3D.
I also am an open source enthusiast - all my software is open source. But I don't think open source is the best solution for Java3D. The rest of Java is not open source, and Java would have been ruined long ago if it had been licensed under GPL or LGPL. The key thing about the Java license is that you may not call something Java unless it is compatible with the Java reference. This protects platform independence. An open source Java3D would be preferable to no Java3D at all, but if it goes open source then we'll see lots of implementors who add their own little improvements and hence create lots of incompatible versions. I switched to Java (in January 1996) because I was fed up with the constant platform problems from users of our systems. We still get a stream of emails to the Vis5D (written in C) mailing list from folks who are having trouble installing on Linux (and other Unix flavors). Cheers, Bill ---------------------------------------------------------- Bill Hibbard, SSEC, 1225 W. Dayton St., Madison, WI 53706 [EMAIL PROTECTED] 608-263-4427 fax: 608-263-6738 http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/~billh/vis.html =========================================================================== 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".
