Ready-to-Run Java 3D [Paperback]

Kirk Brown (Author), Daniel Petersen (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471317020 | ISBN-13: 978-0471317029 | Publication Date: April 2, 1999

A crash course in Java 3D, plus many ready-to-use applets that will leap off the screen and keep your viewers glued to your Web site.

Here's everything you need to spice up your Web site with interactive content, rich realism, and animation-immediately! Each chapter is built around a ready-to-run Java 3D applet and begins with detailed, easy-to-follow instructions on how to customize it to your needs without compiling or coding. This is followed by a technical tutorial that explains how the applets were created using the Java 3D API. And, throughout the book, numerous examples and diagrams and loads of useable source code help make it amazingly quick and easy for you to master:
* Core Java 3D commands.
* Core Java 3D API components.
* Special Java 3D development tools.
* Graphics modeling and rendering concepts and techniques.
* A range of 3D techniques, including lighting, texture manipulation, 3D fonts, image processing, and 3D sound.
* Other powerful Java utilities, tools, and classes.

The CD-ROM supplies you with:
* Numerous customizable Java 3D applets and their HTML files.
* Tools and resources to create 3D content.
* Links to 3rd-party tool vendors.
* The Java 2 platform (formerly JDK 1.2).
* Java 3D Runtime Environment.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Written for the intermediate Java programmer and Web site designer, Ready-to-Run Java 3D provides sample Java applets and code using Sun's new Java 3D API. This book provides a worthy jump-start for Java 3D that goes well beyond the documentation provided by Sun.

Coverage includes downloading the Java 2 plug-in (needed by Java 3D) and basic Java 3D classes for storing shapes, matrices, and scenes. A listing of all Java 3D classes shows off its considerable richness. Generally, this book tries to cover basic 3D concepts and how they are implemented in Java 3D. (It assumes a certain knowledge of math, particularly with matrices, which are a staple of 3D graphics). Well-commented source code is printed throughout (though there is little additional commentary).

An applet for orbiting planets provides an entertaining demonstration of transforming objects onscreen. You'll learn to add processing for fog effects and texture mapping and get material on 3D sound effects and several public domain tools for working with 3D artwork (including converting VRML [Virtual Reality Markup Language] files for use with Java 3D).

In all, this book largely succeeds at being accessible for HTML designers while being useful to Java programmers. With Java 3D, Sun is betting that 3D graphics shouldn't require a degree in computer science. This book reflects that philosophy, though advanced Java developers will probably want more detail on this exciting new graphics package. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Individual applets for morphing, translation, rotation, and scaling; support for light and transparency; adding motion and interaction to 3D objects (with Java 3D classes for behaviors and interpolators); and Java 3D classes used for event handling.

From the Back Cover

A crash course in Java 3D, plus many ready-to-use applets that will leap off the screen and keep your viewers glued to your Web site.

Here's everything you need to spice up your Web site with interactive content, rich realism, and animation-immediately! Each chapter is built around a ready-to-run Java 3D applet and begins with detailed, easy-to-follow instructions on how to customize it to your needs without compiling or coding. This is followed by a technical tutorial that explains how the applets were created using the Java 3D API. And, throughout the book, numerous examples and diagrams and loads of useable source code help make it amazingly quick and easy for you to master:
* Core Java 3D commands.
* Core Java 3D API components.
* Special Java 3D development tools.
* Graphics modeling and rendering concepts and techniques.
* A range of 3D techniques, including lighting, texture manipulation, 3D fonts, image processing, and 3D sound.
* Other powerful Java utilities, tools, and classes.

The CD-ROM supplies you with:
* Numerous customizable Java 3D applets and their HTML files.
* Tools and resources to create 3D content.
* Links to 3rd-party tool vendors.
* The Java 2 platform (formerly JDK 1.2).
* Java 3D Runtime Environment.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (April 2, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471317020
• ISBN-13: 978-0471317029
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,120,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Terribly written with some ok examples, October 22, 1999

By 

Charles Ocheret - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ready-to-Run Java 3D (Paperback)

I've been doing 3D programming for over 2 decades and just wanted to get a leg up on the new Java 3D stuff. I believe that had I not had extensive experience with 3D before, I would have found it impossible to follow the content of this book. I found myself constantly astounded that this book made it past the copy editors. Besides the scores of typos, it reads like it was translated from Russian to English by a newly arrived Chinese Math TA. There are some good examples although they don't demonstrate all of the features of Java3D. I learned more from the online javadoc pages and the online tutorial. There may be some useful snippets of code to use as inspiration for your own programs but there is nothing in here that couldn't be easily generated by yourself. Who's writing a good Java3D book? If noone volunteers, I'd be happy to write one that's better than this one.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Those that can do, those that can't teach-These Guys Do!, May 1, 2000

By 

Dennis Worsham - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ready-to-Run Java 3D (Paperback)

After 4 yerars of programming, I have to say that this book is the strangest programming book I have ever come accross. It is a VERY difficult read for someone not familiar with the Java 3-D API (As I was), and if that person is not familiar with Java, Forget about it. This is definitely not the book to learn from. It often reads like a sales pitch/ego trip from someone who has been around the technology since the beginning, and as such offers very little educational benefit. I wish somebody (Sun Maybe? ) would get it together and come out with something useful on this subject. The bad stuff having now been said, I really have to say the Code Samples were great, demonstrating as I said above--Those that can do, Those that can't teach. These guys are great Java 3D Programmers, but horrible teachers!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ready to Run Java3d, June 12, 2000

By 

Bruce Shankle - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ready-to-Run Java 3D (Paperback)

I was so unimpressed with this book that I returned it. It's nothing more than a rehash of stuff available from Sun's web site and various places on the internet.