VRML

VRML

Filename extension	.wrl z finalizes extension when gzipped
Internet media type	model/vrml x-world/x-vrml application/x-cc3d
Latest release	2.0
Type of format	3D computer graphics
Extended from	Labyrinth
Standard	ISO/IEC 14772-1:1997
Website	http://www.web3d.org/x3d/vrml/

VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language, pronounced vermal or by its initials, originally — before 1995 — known as the Virtual Reality Markup Language) is a standard file format for representing 3-dimensional (3D) interactive vector graphics, designed particularly with the World Wide Web in mind. It has been superseded by X3D.

Format

VRML is a text file format where, e.g., vertices and edges for a 3D polygon can be specified along with the surface color, UV mapped textures, shininess, transparency, and so on. URLs can be associated with graphical components so that a web browser might fetch a web-page or a new VRML file from the Internet when the user clicks on the specific graphical component. Animations, sounds, lighting, and other aspects of the virtual world can interact with the user or may be triggered by external events such as timers. A special Script Node allows the addition of program code (e.g., written in Java or JavaScript (ECMAScript)) to a VRML file.

VRML files are commonly called "worlds" and have the *.wrl extension (for example island.wrl). Although VRML worlds use a text format, they may often be compressed using gzip so that they transfer over the internet more quickly (some gzip compressed files use the *.wrz extension). Many 3D modeling programs can save objects and scenes in VRML format.

Example VRML document

# VRML V2.0 utf8
# META "title" "HelloWorld.wrl"
# META "description" "Simple X3D example"
# META "created" "30 October 2000"
# META "modified" "30 May 2009"
# META "creator" "Don Brutzman"
# META "reference" "http://www.web3D.org"
# META "reference" "http://www.x3dGraphics.com"
# META "identifier" "http://www.web3d.org/x3d/content/examples/HelloWorld.x3d"
# META "image" "http://www.web3d.org/x3d/content/examples/HelloWorldTall.png"
# META "license" "http://www.web3d.org/x3d/content/examples/license.html"
# META "generator" "X3D-Edit 3.2, https://savage.nps.edu/X3D-Edit"
# Example scene to illustrate X3D nodes and fields (XML elements and attributes)
Group {
 children [
     Viewpoint {
       centerOfRotation 0 -1 0
       description "Hello world!"
       position 0 -1 7
     }
     Transform {
       rotation 0 1 0 3
       children [
           Shape {
             geometry Sphere {
             }
             appearance Appearance {
               material Material {
                 diffuseColor 0 0.5 1
               }
               texture ImageTexture {
                 url [ "earth-topo.png" "earth-topo.jpg" "earth-topo-small.gif"
                       "http://www.web3d.org/x3d/content/examples/Basic/earth-topo.png"
                       "http://www.web3d.org/x3d/content/examples/Basic/earth-topo.jpg"
                       "http://www.web3d.org/x3d/content/examples/Basic/earth-topo-small.gif" ]
               }
             }
           }
       ]
     }
     Transform {
       translation 0 -2 0
       children [
           Shape {
             geometry Text {
               string [ "Hello" "world!" ]
               fontStyle FontStyle {
                 justify [ "MIDDLE" "MIDDLE" ]
               }
             }
             appearance Appearance {
               material Material {
                 diffuseColor 0.1 0.5 1
               }
             }
           }
       ]
     }
 ]
}

Standardization

The Web3D Consortium has been formed to further the collective development of the format. VRML (and its successor, X3D), have been accepted as international standards by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

The first version of VRML was specified in November 1994. This version was specified from, and very closely resembled, the API and file format of the Open Inventor software component, originally developed by SGI. The current and functionally complete version is VRML97 (ISO/IEC 14772-1:1997). VRML has now been superseded by X3D (ISO/IEC 19775-1)

Emergence, popularity, and rival technical upgrade

The term VRML was coined by Dave Raggett in a paper submitted to The First International Conference on the World-Wide Web in 1994, and first discussed at the WWW94 VRML BOF established by Tim Berners-Lee, where Mark Pesce presented the Labyrinth demo he developed with Tony Parisi & Peter Kennard.

In 1997, a new version of the format was finalized, as VRML97 (also known as VRML2 or VRML 2.0), and became an ISO standard. VRML97 was used on the Internet on some personal homepages and sites such as "CyberTown", which offered 3D chat using Blaxxun Software. The format was championed by SGI's Cosmo Software; when SGI restructured in 1998 the division was sold to Platinum Technologies, which was then taken over by Computer Associates, which did not develop or distribute the software. To fill the void a variety of proprietary Web 3D formats emerged over the next few years, including Microsoft Chrome and Adobe Atmosphere, neither of which is supported today. VRML's capabilities remained largely the same while realtime 3D graphics kept improving. The VRML Consortium changed its name to the Web3D Consortium, and began work on the successor to VRML – X3D.

H-Anim is a standard for animated Humanoids, which is based around VRML, and later X3D. The initial version 1.0 of the H-Anim standard was scheduled for submission at the end of March 1998.

VRML provoked much interest but has never seen much serious widespread use. One reason for this may have been the lack of available bandwidth. At the time of VRML's popularity, a majority of users, both business and personal, were using slow dial-up internet access. This had the unfortunate side effect of having users wait for extended periods of time only to find a blocky, ill-lit room with distorted text hanging in seemingly random locations.

VRML experimentation was primarily in education and research where an open specification is most valued. It has now been re-engineered as X3D. The MPEG-4 Interactive Profile (ISO/IEC 14496) was based on VRML (now on X3D), and X3D is largely backward-compatible with it. VRML is also widely used as a file format for interchange of 3D models, particularly from CAD systems.

A free cross-platform runtime implementation of VRML is available in OpenVRML. Its libraries can be used to add both VRML and X3D support to applications, and a GTK+ plugin is available to render VRML/X3D worlds in web browsers.

Criticism

In a September 17, 1998 Computergram International essay, "VRML Versus Chromeffects: Microsoft Replies", Rachel Chalmers sharply criticized VRML as having "no integration with HTML", whereas "Chromeffects is based on 56 multimedia XML tags". She did not criticize X3D (though extended from VRML as well as XML), because X3D already had this integration.

Alternatives

• 3DMLW — 3D Markup Language for Web
• COLLADA — managed by the Khronos Group
• O3D — developed by Google
• U3D — Ecma International standard ECMA-363
• X3D — successor of VRML

See also

• Active Worlds virtual reality multi-user 3D chat platform
• Blaxxun virtual reality multi-user 3D chat platform
• Flux, freely downloadable VRML/X3D editor/browser
• FreeWRL, free Open Source VRML/X3D browser
• List of vector graphics markup languages
• MeshLab open source mesh processing system that can export VRML/X3D
• Seamless3d free Open Source 3D modelling software
• Web3D

External links

General

• VRML and X3D Plugin Detector that determines which VRML and X3D plugins are installed in your web browser
• comp.lang.vrml newsgroup
• VRML at the Open Directory Project
• Floops general narrative.
• Floops in his very first episode.

Documentation

• VRML Archives
• VRML Annotated Reference
• VRML ISO/IEC 14772 standard document
• VRML and X3D description
• Extensible 3D: XML Meets VRML
• Web3D Consortium
• H-Anim working group