Painting the Web

The 3Ds

Before XML was big, while the Web was just a young pup, I was working with VRML. It still amazes me to this day that this three-dimensional language faded out into relative obscurity—especially considering how surprisingly sophisticated it was.

Today's popular 3D world consists of community forums such as Second Life. Yet the idea of something like a Second Life—where people could enter a three-dimensional world with avatars and interact with one another—was conceived well over 10 years ago, and VRML was going to give it to us. It was an exciting technology that generated intense early interest and then, suddenly, seemed to have fallen almost completely off the radar as a viable web graphics format. Why? Several reasons, really. Performance issues, browser support (or lack thereof), and the fact that at about that time Macromedia introduced its specification killer, Flash.

A major disconnect with VRML, though, had to do with the VRML specification itself. The VRML specification left a lot of implementation details up to the browser makers and, as we've seen over the years in regards to scripting, CSS, and HTML, this is never a good idea: where the makers can differ, they will differ. I remember how difficult it was at one point to try to get my little VRML 1.0 lava lamp to work for more than one VRML client.

I will say that unlike WebCGM, there is growing support for more mainstream access of the 3Ds, aided in part by a small but viable community of 3D enthusiasts. Their efforts ...