Java 3D

Java describes a number of software products developed by Sun Microsystems. Used together these tools allow for the development of software applications that can be deployed across multiple platforms, running on top of either OpenGL or Direct3D.

The Java 3D class library allows developers to work in existing Java-based, object-oriented programming environments, where they can import most common model file types for use in their applications. Java 3D works best with Wavefront.obj or Lightware.iwo formats since it comes with loaders for these file formats by default, though there are other loaders available. Java 3D uses a scene graph-based 3D graphics model, making it slightly more intuitive to create basic 3D environments than lower level procedural 3D API.

Some of the problems associated with Java, and thus Java 3D, cannot be ignored. Java 3D uses a native non-Java peer to execute all rendering, which seriously complicates graphical user interface development if other Java components are also being used. Another problem is that the only major vendor that currently supports Java 3D is Sun Microsystems, making availability a real issue.

Examples

• Project Wonderland
• Sweet Home 3D