by Gary Welz
Dimension X's Java-based VRML Tools
Dimension X, founded in March 1995, is a leading maker of Java and VRML application development tools and platforms for the Internet and was the first company to bring Java and VRML together. Its Liquid Reality is the first platform-independent implementation of VRML 2.0, entirely coded in Java.The benefit of using Java as the basis for the platform is striking. As a cross-platform programming language, Java was designed to be easily portable and support a component and dynamically extensible architecture. Consequently, making updates, changes, or even introducing new functionality to an application or content written in Liquid Reality can be accomplished by adding new classes to your Web site.
Now, Microsoft wants to make Dimension X's Liquid Reality platform the standard implementation for 3D on the Web, and to that end it's licensed a portion of the Liquid Reality platform to embed into Internet Explorer and upcoming versions of the Windows operating system. This will allow users to see, create, and interact in VRML 2.0 worlds. Microsoft expects to be able to use Dimension X to bring the 3D animation used in today's games and simulations to the Internet.
The Dimension X viewer usurps the privileged relationship with Microsoft that was previously held by the Intervista viewer created by Intervista's founder, VRML pioneer, Tony Parisi.
In my column last week and the week before, I discussed Microsoft's DirectX API and the advantage it gives to Windows platform software developers. Karl Jacob, CEO of Dimension X, described it for me very vividly when he said that the DirectX APIs "raise the level of the platform." As a result, developers don't have to worry about the low-level (i.e., hardware level) features, such as special audio and video components, to use the full power of the system.
Since the Liquid Reality VRML 2.0 viewer is based on high-speed DirectX APIs, it can exploit the transparent hardware acceleration offered by DirectX, high-speed Virtual Machine (VM), and the Just In Time (JIT) compiler native for IE 3.0.
Microsoft will license only Liquid Reality Core for reading, writing, and viewing VRML 2.0 on the Windows 95 and Windows NT platforms. The entire Liquid Reality platform is also available on Solaris, LinuxT, and Macintosh platforms.
"Liquid Reality," the company says, "is an entire platform for 3D content development with Java extensibility. Dimension X will offer developers a fully customizable toolkit, server technology, VRML world and object editor, and an applications development interface, all of which are fully extensible through Java. The editor manipulates and saves VRML 2.0, replacing its complex language of numbers and intricate commands with an easy-to-understand syntax and direct-manipulation interface."
Furthermore, as an ActiveX control, Liquid Reality can pull in functionality from a word processor, accounting program, or any other application that supports ActiveX and use it directly in 3D environments.
Ken Locker, executive producer, original online programming for MGM Interactive, says, "The collaboration between Microsoft and Dimension X provides incredibly fast, robust technologies for mainstream consumer applications."
In addition to its VRML tools, DimensionX offers Liquid Motion Pro, a 2D content creation tool, and it has just announced an extension called Liquid Promotion, a Java-based ad banner development tool.
Liquid Promotion enables the creation of interactive ads that can even be used to sell products over the Web. No click-through is needed; additional components are downloaded to the banner space as the view requests them through built-in controls. A banner no larger than 10K can include the features of a billboard, a commercial spot, and a direct marketing campaign.
