Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/30784
■ ■ ■ ■ Web Graphics ES2.0 Programmable Pipeline Triangles/Lines/Points API Processing Primitive Vertices Vertex Shader Primitive Assembly Rasterizer Vertex Buffer Objects Fragment Shader Depth Stencil Color Buffer Blend Dither Frame Buffer says. “Besides, HTML 5 calls for JavaScript.” In other words, it’s really not negotiable. Th e whole point of standards bodies is to defi ne and enable compliance with standards. Ready to Release WebGL made its offi cial debut at the recent Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. It has been warmly welcomed by the game development community, which is coping with fundamental changes in the in- dustry. One pioneer of 3D on the Web is Tony Parisi, who, along with Mark Pesce, developed that long-ago forerunner, VRML. Parisi was at GDC, and he was thrilled. He has been a long supporter of the Khronos APIs, as the group has picked up the ball from earlier attempts to create open 3D standards. At a celebratory dinner the Khronos crew threw for themselves at a local sushi joint, Parisi knocked back his sake and said, “It’s fi nally here. Th is is what we had been working on all along.” But even before the offi cial arrival of Web- GL, the API has gained wide acceptance in the Web development community. Th e Khronos Group reports that an active de- velopment network has sprung up around WebGL, and the spec has been downloaded thousands of times. Th e browser companies supporting Web- GL have been hard at work creating demos, and there are many more being created by 3D enthusiasts. In fact, there is quite a bit on show for public consumption, but there is much, much more work going on in terms of creating new content that will arrive with the release of the next-generation browsers. For an idea of what can be done, download 20 April 2011 the latest beta browsers from Mozilla, Op- era, or Google, and then go to the Khronos Group’s Demo repository at www.khronos. org/webgl/wiki/Demo_Repository to play with the available demos. Google also has a showcase of great demos at www.chrome- experiments.com/webgl. Both sites provide a fabulous way to waste an afternoon. So, while everyone is having a 3D party, is there an evil fairy stepmother out there plot- ting to ruin everyone’s fun? Microsoft is not a participant in the WebGL working group, and while its sphere of infl uence is declining, In- ternet Explorer is still among the most widely used browsers in the world. Ironically enough, Vukićević thinks that if worst comes to worst, WebGL could be implemented in Internet Explorer by way of a plug-in. However, Microsoft is a supporter of HTML 5, and as 3D on the Web gains mo- mentum, it does not benefi t Microsoft to be on the sidelines. As an open standard, WebGL can be adopted by Microsoft free of charge and with little loss of face. As a result, many observers believe that Microsoft will add support for We- bGL. WebGL in Action WebGL enables 3D content to ex- ist on a Web page without windows, and it enables immersive worlds such as Second Life, Active Worlds, Evolver Friends Hangout, and, of course, many others. It’s almost as if the 3D worlds have been waiting for an en- abling technology like WebGL. Google Body takes a completely diff erent approach. It was created by volunteers at Google. Vangelis Kokkevis, Google’s representative in the WebGL work- ing group, describes it as something like Google Earth for the human body. Th e ap- plication presents a 3D rendering of the body with multiple layers, allowing the explorer to move from skin, to muscles, to organs, to the skeleton, with plenty of stuff in between. Th e Google team implemented Google Body so that it is an integrated element on the Web page with no telltale window and, of course, no plug-in needed. At the Khronos unveiling of WebGL at GDC, Kokkevis also demonstrated a 3D aquarium full of fi sh and sharks equipped with ray beams for no better reason than to illustrate the advanced lighting eff ects supported by WebGL and, well, be- cause you gotta have ray beams if you’re one of those people who want to play 3D games like Quake wherever possible. When asked what kind of WebGL imple- mentations we would start seeing, Parisi and Trevett said they expected to see 3D elements within the Web page implemented in ways similar to Google Body: embedded 3D objects that are rotatable and interactive. Th ere is already 3D content online cour- tesy of plug-ins. For instance, 3D content is being used quite a bit by the car companies to allow customers to “confi gure” their new car. Back during the fi rst years of enthusiasm for 3D on the Web, we saw a lot of product models, 3D mobile phones, kitchen appli- ances, and so on. But, the public’s dislike of plug-ins became abundantly obvious. Now that WebGL is enabling 3D without plug- ins, expect to see 3D models of everything from cars to clothing. eBay is going to go 3D at least for some company stores and the geekier eBay sellers. But hey, let’s not forget those gamers, the VRML folks, and the denizens of 3D worlds Google Body includes a slider bar that lets the visitor move through the different layers of the body, from skin to skeleton. The body is fully 3D, and it’s searchable.