Java 3D API Jump-Start

Description

Get started with Java 3D—today!

• Master interactive 3D development for the desktop and the Web-now!
• Learn Java 3D's powerful scene graph programming model
• Covers every key component of the Java 3D API
• Cutting edge Java 3D case studies: e-commerce, entertainment, engineering, and more

Interactive 3D for the desktop and Web. It's not the future. It's here today. Java 3D Jump-Start is your concise introduction to the 3D technology that delivers the most power with the least coding. In this hands-on guide, a world-renowned Web3D expert and a member of Sun's Java 3D engineering team unveil the Java 3D API, providing insider's insights and real code.

Discover how Java 3D unleashes a new generation of 3D programs for the desktop and the World Wide Web—and master all the skills you need to start building spectacular Java 3D applications and applets right now!

• Real-world case studies: e-commerce, entertainment, data visualization, collaborative engineering, and beyond
• How Java 3D compares with other graphics options
• Java 3D's powerful scene graph programming model
• High-level constructs for creating, loading, and manipulating 3D geometry
• Appearances: describing color, texture, material reflection, and other characteristics of 3D objects
• Java 3D tools for transformation, viewing, and picking

With Java 3D Jump-Start, Java and Web professionals can harness the full power of 3D computer graphics to create fully interactive and immersive 3D programs for the desktop and the Web. Not "someday." Today.

Foreword by Kevin Rushforth, Sun Microsystems, Java 3D Technical Lead.

Every Jump-Start book is:

• AUTHORITATIVE, written by world-class experts personally involved with the design and development of that technology
• FOCUSED, providing exactly what you need to know to get started immediately with a minimum of effort
• PRACTICAL, teaching you the skills and techniques that you need to develop professional, real-world software applications

Sample Content

Table of Contents

Foreword.


Introductory Note.


Preface.


1. Java 3D Overview.

Digging into Java 3D. Java 3D in Action. Java 3D Design Goals. Digging Deeper: Comparing Java 3D to Other Graphics Options. Java 3D versus Low-Level Rendering APIs. Java 3D versus Other Scene Graph APIs. Java 3D versus Modeling File Formats. Java 3D versus Other Java Media APIs. Hitting Pay Dirt: Exploring Key Java 3D Features. Scene Graph Programming Model. Rendering Control. Java 3D Rendering Model. Scalable Performance. Behaviors. Geometry Compression. Sound. Convenience and Utility Classes. Versatile View Model. Java 3D and the Java Platform. Java 2 JDK, JRE, and the Java Plug-In. Java and Java 3D. Java 3D Packages. Java 3D Documentation. Java 3D Versions. Platform Support. Platform Variations. Java 3D DirectX versus Java 3D OpenGL. Java 3D Resources. Summary. Summary of URLs Found in This Chapter.

Firing Up HelloUniverse. Stepping into a Virtual Universe. Scene Graphs. SceneGraphObjects. Group Nodes. Environment Nodes. The ViewPlatform. The VirtualUniverse and Locale. Exploring the HelloUniverse Scene Graph. Working with the Scene Graph. Scene Graph Interpretation. Making Changes to the Scene Graph. Capability Bits Details. More Optimizations: compile(). Other Scene Graph Operations. Groups. Group Subclasses. BranchGroup. OrderedGroup. SharedGroup. Switch. TransformGroup. Groups in HelloUniverse. Recipe for a Java 3D Program. Summary.

Shape3D Nodes. Geometry. GeometryArrays. Geometry Utilities. Text3D. Higher-Level Primitives. ColorCube. Text2D. Utility Shape Primitives. Loading Geometry from Files. The Loader. The Scene. Loading Other File Formats. Java 3D Fly Through. Summary. Summary of URLs Found in This Chapter.

Appearance Basics. Appearance Attributes. Color Classes. Appearance Methods. Examining Appearance Attributes with Java 3D Explorer. ColoringAttributes. PointAttributes. LineAttributes. PolygonAttributes. RenderingAttributes. TransparencyAttributes. Material. Texture Mapping. Texture. TextureAttributes. Assigning Texture Coordinates. TexCoordGeneration. Multitexturing. Summary. Summary of URLs Found in This Chapter.

Environment Nodes in the Java 3D Explorer. Bounding Regions. Lighting. Backgrounds. Fog. Sound. Behaviors. Bounding Regions. Summary. Summary of URLs Found in This Chapter.

Transformations. Transformations with Java 3D Explorer. Basic Transformations. Transform3D. Compound Transformations. Hierarchies. Controlling Transforms with Mouse Behaviors. Viewing. Moving the ViewPlatform. Basic Viewing: Finding a Good Vantage Point. Moving the ViewPlatform with the Mouse. Changing the View. Advanced Viewing. Picking. PickTool. PickCanvas. PickResult. PickIntersection. Other Uses for Picking. Summary.

Preface

Preface

Welcome to Java 3D API Jump-Start. This book was designed to enable Java programmers to jump directly into the exciting and powerful world of 3D. Written by professional Java 3D developers, this book covers everything you need to know to get up and running with Sun Microsystems Java 3D application programming interface (API) in no time flat.

Java 3D API Jump-Start was written for Java programmers by Java programmers. Assuming that you're already comfortable with the basics of Java development, this book walks you start-to-finish through the most important and useful aspects of programming with the Java 3D API. To this end, Java 3D API Jump-Start is organized into the following six chapters:

• Chapter 1, "Java 3D Overview"
• Chapter 2, "Scene Graph Basics"
• Chapter 3, "Creating and Loading Geometry"
• Chapter 4, "Appearances"
• Chapter 5, "Environment Nodes"
• Chapter 6, "Tools: Transforms, Viewing, and Picking"

The first two chapters form an introduction to Java 3D. Chapter 1 gives examples of Java 3D applications and describes the basic features; Chapter 2 describes the basic structure of Java 3D programs. Chapter 3, 4 and 5 describe the three basic "building blocks" of Java 3D programs. Chapter 6 covers three tools that most Java 3D programs use.

Upon completing each chapter, you'll have gained valuable knowledge and hands-on experience related to a specific area of Java 3D capabilities and features, enabling you to explore that topic in more detail on your own as you see fit. By the time you finish all six chapters you'll be experienced with the most important aspects of Java 3D necessary to create your very own interactive 3D applications.

Web3D Series

Java 3D Jump-Start is part of a new "Web3D" series of books produced by Prentice Hall, and dedicated to 3D and the Internet. To get your hands on additional resources related to Java 3D Jump-Start (such as the freely available Java 3D Explorer application used extensively throughout this book), or to learn more about related 3D technologies, visit the Web3DBooks.com Web site at web3dbooks.com/

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