VRML

Preface. Introduction. The Promise of VRML. What Are Internet Virtual Worlds? Magic Words of Power. Virtual Reality and Real Reality. Virtual Reality and the Internet. The Role of VRML. HTML and VRML. Networking VRML. Web Sites and VRML. World Building. Tools of the VRML Trade. Which Authoring Tool Is Best? Further Considerations. Recommending VRML Browsers. Virtual Worlds on the Internet. Browsing Virtual Worlds on the Internet. Exploring Internet Virtual Worlds with VRML. 1. Computer Graphics, Visualization, and Virtual Reality. The First Piece: Computer Graphics. A Brief History of Computer Graphics. The Use of Computerized Graphics. Pictures as Numbers. Graphics Formats and Compression. Processing Computer Graphics. The Second Piece: Visualization. Mathematical Visualization. Thinking and Seeing. Visualization and the Computer. Visual Information. Simple Visualizations: Trees. Visualizing Networks. The Information City. What Are Words For? Computer Graphics and Visualization. 2. Virtual Worlds and the World Wide Web. The Birth of the Internet. The Birth of the World Wide Web. Vehicles on the Information Superhighway: Creation and Development of the Internet Browser. Virtual Reality: Life in Cyberspace. VRML: What It Is ... and What It Is Not. Stepping into a Virtual World. 3. WorldView-A VRML Browser. Required System Specifications. Installing Intervista Software's WorldView 0.9f for Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroup 3.11. Installing WorldView from the CD-ROM. Installing Intervista's WorldView Version 1.0, Beta 3 for Windows 95. Becoming Familiar with WorldView Features. The WorldView 0.9f for Windows 3.1 Menu Bar. The WorldView 1.0, Beta 3 for Windows 95 Menu Bar. The WorldView Toolbar in WorldView 0.9f for Windows 3.1. The WorldView 0.9f for Windows 3.1 Navigator Bar. The WorldView Toolbar in WorldView 1.0, Beta 3 for Windows 95. The WorldView 1.0B, Beta 3 for Windows 95 Navigator Bar. Configuring WorldView for Use with Netscape. Alternative VRML Browsers. A Brief Tour of Other VRML Browsers. 4. Exploring Virtual Worlds. Introduction. Before Entering Cyberspace. Netscape Notes. Exploring Cyberspace and Virtual Worlds. Manipulating Simple Objects in Cyberspace. Complicated Virtual Worlds. Linking to Other Worlds. Real-time Chatting with Virtual People on the Internet. Great VRML Sites on the Internet. 5. An Introduction to the VRML Language. The VRML Language. How VRML Works. VRML in Action. Building Virtual Worlds with Pre-defined Shapes. The Virtual World and Color. 3D World Rendering Considerations. Building Virtual Worlds with Point Clouds. More Points about Point Clouds. Cubes as a Series of Triangles. VRML Files: Big Coordinate3 and IndexedFaceSet Lists. Lights, Camera, Action. Creating Objects Away from the Origin. Linking to Other Places and Web Pages. Building Virtual Worlds. 6. Creating Simple Virtual Worlds. Pre-defined Shapes. Fundamentals. Overlapping. Translating. Rotating. Scaling. Creating Funky Shapes. Sample Examples. Putting It All Together. Flying Saucer. Cruise Ship. Color and Shading. Texture and Image Maps. Linking. Summary. 7. The Future of VRML. What About Java? The Java Language. Java and VRML. Using Java for Applications. Using Java for Intelligent Agents. Using Java for VRML. Browsing. Javascript. Shockwave and Other Web Tools. Selected VRML Research Projects and Proposals. Appendix A. Internet Browser Fundamentals. Appendix B. The Virtual Reality Modeling Language. Appendix C. Quick Reference to the WorldView VRML Browser Version 0.9f for Windows 3.1 and Version 1.0, Beta 1 for Windows 95. Appendix D. Internet Access Providers (National). Appendix E. VRML Documentation and Specifications Available through the VRML Repository. Appendix F. Contents of CD-ROM. Index.