Anton Koning (anton++at++sara.nl)
Thu, 14 Oct 1999 21:07:36 +0200 (MET DST)
As some or perhaps most of you know the old .wrl loader is a VRML 1.0 (more or
less identical to the Inventor format), while the new .wrl loader claims to be
a VRML 2.0 loader (which is complete different from Inventor). Fortunately you
can still use the Inventor loader to load most VRML 1.0 files by changing the
extension to .iv.
We at SARA use Performer for some of our CAVE applications and have had major
problems with the OpenWorlds loader. It chokes on the most simple VRML 2.0
files and while we have reported some problems (some of which have been fixed)
we still find the loader unusable. For example the fact that certain versions
of the loader only function when used with Perfly is a sign of inferior design
and little or no testing.
The fact that SGI, who is one of the major players in establishing the VRML
2.0 standard, relies on a third party to provide a Performer loader is in my
opinion a big mistake. The fact that the loader as provided is unusable and
apparently completely untested is inexcusable.
In defense of OpenWorlds I have to admit that is seems almost impossible to
write a complete and robust VRML 2.0 loader. Although many packages write VRML
2.0 code, few implement a loader and even fewer have a good (let alone
perfect) loader. All this leads us, after 2.5 years of struggling with various
VRML 2.0 datasets, to the conclusion that VRML 2.0 is (still) unusable as a
standard for 3D polygon data.
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| Anton H.J. Koning, Ph.D. | Consultant, Academic Computing Services Amsterdam |
| e-mail: anton++at++sara.nl | s-mail: P.O. Box 94613, NL-1090 GP Amsterdam |
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