Google has a very nice 3D application and well worth noticing and to learn from to make a user friendly tool
http://sketchup.google.com/ 3D for Everyone 2009/4/7 Oleg Kobchenko <[email protected]> > > J has a number of ways to produce 3D graphics: the native OpenGL > support is very nicely integrated with the system; the labs and > demos showcase a higher-level cover API for frequently-used > operations (begin, end, lists, colors, etc.); there is turtle > graphics API (Brian Schott) for directional animation. These are > powerful and interesting PROGRAMMATIC tools. > > For those who prefer a DECLARATIVE way to describe things, clarity > and expressiveness are more important than power or completeness. > For 3D these have been languages that describe worlds, such as > VRML (and Web3D's X3D). It is very easy, with very little tool-specific > training, to both read and write the 3D definitions. > > Visual Python or VPython strikes a sweet spot by using an interpreted > language Python, and a declarative API for 3D scenes and motion. > > Intro with many examples: see how you can start figuring it > out instantly. > http://www.vpython.org/VPython_Intro.pdf > > Curve documentation: an example of one primitive. > http://vpython.org/contents/docs/visual/curve.html > > Contributed programs: many further examples in use (like Cherry Tree). > http://vpython.org/contents/contributed.html > > The source for this intuitive success is probably the instructive > origins of the toolkit for students with non-essential programming skills. > A tool created by non-programmers for non-programmers. > > For experienced programmers or 3D creators, such intuitive API > means productivity. It still allows focusing more on the 3D layout > rather than the implementation details. > > For J proud of its notation and consistent design, it would be > beneficial to continue to sharpen this tradition in frameworks. > > It seems the secret is in consistent use of small expressive paradigms. > For VPython the ingredients are: Python constructs; objects and > properties; named parameters; consistent simplified set of 3D API; > no mixing of layers (OpenGL is inaccessible directly); all 3D > objects are first-class (system primitives look the same as user-defined). > Use of plain English words instead of abbreviations and prefixes > is helpful too. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > -- Björn Helgason, Verkfræðingur Fugl&Fiskur ehf, Þerneyjarsundi 23, Hraunborgum Po Box 127,801 Selfoss , t-póst: [email protected] gsm: +3546985532 Landslags og skrúðgarðagerð, gröfuþjónusta http://groups.google.com/group/J-Programming Tæknikunnátta höndlar hið flókna, sköpunargáfa er meistari einfaldleikans góður kennari getur stigið á tær án þess að glansinn fari af skónum /|_ .-----------------------------------. ,' .\ / | Með léttri lund verður | ,--' _,' | Dagurinn í dag | / / | Enn betri en gærdagurinn | ( -. | `-----------------------------------' | ) | (\_ _/) (`-. '--.) (='.'=) ♖♘♗♕♔♙ `. )----' (")_(") ☃☠ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
