Ready-to-Run Java 3D

by Kirk Brown (Author),‎ Daniel Petersen (Author)

17 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0471317029

ISBN-10: 0471317020

Why is ISBN important?

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

Condition: Used - Very Good

In Stock. Sold by -bearbooks-

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

13 Used from $4.50

+ $0.00 shipping

Select delivery location

Turn on 1-Click ordering

Only 2 left in stock - order soon.

Ships from and sold by sweethomeliquid2.

This item does not ship to France. Please check other sellers who may ship internationally.

3 New from $53.97

Select delivery location

$53.97 + $3.99 shipping

Turn on 1-Click ordering

More Buying Choices

3 New from $53.97 13 Used from $4.50

16 used & new from $4.50

See All Buying Options

Free%20Two-Day%20Shipping%20for%20College%20Students%20with%20Amazon%20Student

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

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: 7.5 x 0.9 x 9.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 17 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,080,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4416 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Languages & Tools > Java
- #12734 in Books > Textbooks > Computer Science > Programming Languages
- #32071 in Books > Computers & Technology > Computer Science

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Customer Reviews

Write a customer review

See all 17 customer reviews

Rated by customers interested in

What's this?

Computer Science

2.0 out of 5 stars

Computer Books

2.0 out of 5 stars

Reference Books

1.5 out of 5 stars

Is this feature helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Read reviews that mention

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

OK if you want to jazz up applets and not learn how

November 25, 2005

Format: Paperback

This book is very old, so I guess it's forgiveable that the text appears to be written for a simpler time when webpage designers needed to know more about how to insert snazzy eye-catching graphics into their designs than about the mechanics of enterprise design. As a learning tool, this book is very poor and will teach you nothing about Java 3D and how to write a program using it. As a catalog of cute effects it is not so bad. So if you just want to lift "ready-to-run" applets from the book that involve shiny orbs floating around 3D text and other such things without having to think about what you're doing, this old book might be for you. That's especially true at the used book prices. However, if you want to learn Java 3D as a tool for image synthesis and computer graphics programming, you will be sorely disappointed. Instead, try Sun Microsystems' excellent free tutorial online available at their website for Java 3D. Also, Selman's book "Java 3D Programming" is a good complement to Sun's tutorial.

CommentWas this review helpful to you?

Yes

A customer

Rushed and difficult to understand

August 31, 1999

Format: Paperback

I'm a complete newbie to 3D, and picked up the book to learn Java 3D. I'm usually successful at picking stuff up from books, but this one was very difficult to follow.
At the moment, it appears to be the only book on Java 3D (other than the specification) so I'm sure that the publishers valued "speed to market" a lot.
However, I must agree with people who found the book extremely rushed, and at times, impossible to understand. For example, the chapter on Textures was virtually incomprehensible to me. The example used in the code sample was so trivial as to provide almost no understanding. I think the authors should have used TriangleArrays (to get across the idea of "throwing away" part of the image) and textures that span multiple surfaces.
I also think that the code examples provided could have been considerably cleaner, without sacrificing clarity.
Finally, I don't think that the authors ever established for themselves who was reading the book -- they appear to alternate from assuming no knowledge, to assuming lots of knowledge.

Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Charles Ocheret

Terribly written with some ok examples

October 22, 1999

Format: 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.

Comment 14 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Dennis Worsham

Those that can do, those that can't teach-These Guys Do!

May 1, 2000

Format: 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!

Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Rob Hustle

a hasty treatment

September 17, 1999

Format: Paperback

The authors seemed like they knew what they were talking about, but rushed through the material. Whether it was their fault, or pressure from editors, I don't know. I do know that the subject needed a more thorough treatment. Excessive listings made me feel like they were trying to pad the length (try changing the margins- worked for me in college), and the writing style struggled to stay focused at times. I learned a lot from the book, but most of it was from dissecting the listings- something I could have done, and ended up doing, on my own with the java 3d demos. I think it would have been better if they had taken one concept at a time, discussed it in depth with examples, and used each of these sections as blocks to build on throughout the book.

Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

A customer

No technical book - only Plug and Play applets

June 28, 1999

Format: Paperback

This book contains about 10 applets. The book explains the parameters for these applets. This book explains nothing about the code it just prints the sourcecode, but today nobody prints his complete sourcecode in his book when it is also on the CD-ROM. On the other side the book tells about programms on the CD-ROM, which are not part of the CD-ROM. Another bad point is that the text from page 11 ist copied and pasted to page 81, that's really bad style. If you want to use prepared 3D applets at your homepage, this book may help you, but this book is nothing for developers.

Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Paul

Ready-to-Run, provided you don't want to know how

January 26, 2001

Format: Paperback

If all you want are some java applets that you can adapt to your own use without ever understanding the API, then this is the book for you. It glazes over huge issues, while spending page after page explaining how to adapt their own examples in vain hopes you might actually be able to use them. If you want to learn how to program Java3D - don't buy this book, you're better off with the docs. If you just want to swipe existing applets - still don't buy this book, you can probably find some online and save yourself $45.

CommentWas this review helpful to you?

Yes

A customer

Poorly Organized Book

July 14, 1999

Format: Paperback

Im a bit confused by the good ratings for this book. Must be freinds of the authors. The overall feeling you get reading the book is "rushed". There is no nice progression of simple->complex examples to let you learn the basics. The logical progression of ideas inside the chapters seems akward. Also I think the pages and pages of listings are just an attempt at bulk up the book.
The authors seem like they know the material, so I am confused why these book is so light wieght.

Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes