VRML is: "Virtual Reality Markup Language" it is NOT pronounced 'Vermil' or 'Vermeel' it is simply V-R-M-L... and it is one heck of a tool!
By the way I did this up in WinXP-Pro there is also a Linux version that I have not had any success in, and I am not familiar with it but I understand
there is also a Mac version... that may or may not work. However it sure works in XP-Pro! and XP home... don't think it will work for CosmoPlayer 2.1.1
in Millenium...what does??? and may be troubled in 2000,.. so 95, 98, XP!!! hey what the heck ya can try!!!
(If you look toward the bottom of the page, you will see a link to the Cartona Browser. If you have Firefox running on say XP or XP-Pro, I can almost
guarantee you will be able to view, create, and distribute VRML content of your own!)
CLICK HERE and if you have an installed VRML browser you should see a virtual
world open for you with an odd little animation. ~8) Try it and see...
On the other hand you find don't have a VRML
enabled browser, you will want to investigate some sources for enabling the viewing of VRML worlds and their scripting.
Even with all the 3d modelling tools out there, CosmoPlayer 2.1.1 and the VRML97 specification remains my all time
favorite virtual worlds toy for teaching folks programming, and proper coding as well as 3d design concepts. HERE is
another VRML scene which displays the presentation of a series of zeroes representing data examination of patterns. the zeroes could be easily replaced with letters in a text
or with numbers for numerical data pattern analysis. with a little imagination one could easily use them to display colored dots and draw a three dimensional image in dots on a
bigger or smaller array... think about it.
The other
advantage that VRML has over modern 3d tools is that it is a 'build it yourself' appliance. This ensures that when you
construct something in this virtual reality you UNDERSTAND what is taking place. Now this may not be practical for many users.
HOWEVER for folks who want to learn to program and have a good grasp of the concept of 3-dimensional space,.. you can't beat the VRML97 spec.!
And it is more fun than a barrel of monkeys when you get into the scripting and playing around with forms. It's uses are myriad
and its virtual space is only limited by the space you have on your disc(s) and imagination!!! With the proper skill level you can create seemingly
endless virtual worlds and leave people wondering, 'how did they do that'. Your imagination is the ONLY LIMIT. And if you want to start
scripting and playing with a script right off, just click the animation for download and instead of playing it, open it in NOTEPAD, and
there before your eyes will be a rather elongated version of a script,.. all for you. Just remember the proper extension for the file when you
go to save it, ".wrl".
The full technical
manual and specification is available here in .zip format ISO-IEC-14772-VRML97.zip and the addendum to the
specification (update) is available here VRML97Am1.zip. You get well over 300 pages and all the information
one could hope to have for reference. PLUS you don't have to worry about messing up... you can experiment to your hearts content!!!
There are specific settings for the Netscape 3.01 browser to enable VRML viewing, and I would advise to make sure that you set the homepage
as 'blank' and 'view page offine' upon initialization. These are the instructions for setting up the mime and subtype for VRML and its
extensions:
