NCSA Portfolio is a collection of utility objects to use with in your
Java
3D programs. It comes with full documentation for the objects in the
library, and even comes with example source code on how to use them!
This new version has been compiled and tested with Java 3D 1.1.2.
Version 1.3 beta 2 is a maintenance release. No new major features
have been added. If you have experienced any problems with the previous
betas, check the list below for possible fixes.
Fixes since beta 1
Increased speed of DXF loader
Fixed Wavefront loader problem
ReaderTokenizer not resetting "eol" public variable after reading
past end-of-line.
Removed compilation of some BranchGroups which are handed
back by some of the loaders. Now all loaders return
un-compiled
BranchGroups.
New in NCSA Portfolio 1.3:
InputDevices for Flock of Birds, Cave Wand, Spacetec SpaceOrb
360, Microsoft Force Feedback Sidewinder, and mouse. The
SpaceOrb uses the JavaComm API, so it can be used with no
specialized native libraries on both Windows and Solaris.
Unified InputDevice Interface introduced
New PickTool features for use with the Wand or SpaceOrb.
New VTK ASCII loader
New VTK binary loader (big endian only)
New NFF loader
New TextureCache object
Other NCSA Portfolio features include:
Universal model loader interface. All supported 3D model
types can be loaded through a single call to a ModelLoader object
which acts as an interface to all 3D model readers.
Supported loaders include:
NCSA's 3D Studio (3DS) loader
NCSA's AutoCAD DXF loader (Version 12)
NCSA's Protein Data Bank (PDB) loader
NCSA's Digital Elevation Map (DEM) loader
NCSA's Imagine (IOB) loader
NCSA's TrueSpace (COB) loader (Version 2)
NCSA's VRML 97 (WRL) loader
NCSA's PLAY loader
NCSA's VTK ASCII loader
NCSA's VTK binary loader (big endian only)
NCSA's NFF loader
NCSA's Wavefront OBJ (including material files for colors
(OBJ) loader
Sun's Lightwave 3D Scene loader
You can also add your own loader interfaces, and the
ModelLoader will automatically recognize them.
Unified InputDevice Interface Starting in NCSA Portfolio
release 1.3 beta 1, we've added support for a unified input
device
interface. Using this interface, we can create a way to
interchange
input devices in programs without having to recompile the program
itself. This is really useful if you're working on one device
(say a
desktop) and have to move the program to another type of device
(such as a four-screened Portal).
To achieve this, we describe how the devices are set up in a Java
properties file called "portfolio.properties". The format for
these
files is fairly straight forward. This document describes how the
properties files are set up. We've included sample
portfolio.properties files for each of the devices we support
through this interface.
In future releases we expect to individually address how buttons
are mapped on input devices. We're introducing the unified input
device interface in preparation of this.
Event management The object library provides a mechanism for
managing events within Java 3D programs through the
ToolManager and its Tools. Using ToolManager, application
developers can easily switch between operating modes. In this
release of NCSA Portfolio, we include a PickTool to manipulate
3D models in a scene and a ViewTool for changing the View
within a scene. Application developers can also write their own
Tools to use with the ToolManager.
Collaborative real-time updates Imagine two people starting
Java 3D programs on two different machines, and have either of
them control the program! NCSA Portfolio includes networking
objects that allow you to easily create real-time collaborative
applications. You can couple this capability with another NCSA
software package, NCSA Habanero � to create even richer
collaborative applications.
Canvas snapshots Take a snapshot of the current Canvas3D
view and save it as a JPEG file!
Record and replay of application events. The NCSA Portfolio
library can record the actions of Tools controled by the
ToolManager. Once the actions are recorded and saved, they can
be loaded and replayed. You can use this to script live
animations.
An example utility with sample source code We also include
sample code for a utility called NCSA Display to give you an idea
of how to use NCSA Portfolio in your own programs. See the
NCSA Display's README file for details on it's features.
--
Steve Pietrowicz - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Project Manager - NCSA Java 3D Group
NCSA Portfolio 1.3 beta 1: http://havefun.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Java3D/portfolio/
New Loaders, turn your Canvas3D into a JPEG, new InputDevices and more!
Freely available for non-commercial use!
You Build It VR: http://havefun.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Java3D/YouBuildItVR/
Build your own multi-user virtual worlds with no programming experience!
The Java3D FAQ: http://tintoy.ncsa.uiuc.edu/~srp/java3d/faq.html
Java News Network: http://tintoy.ncsa.uiuc.edu/~srp/java/javanews.html
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