VRML, sometimes pronounced vermal, is an acronym for the Virtual Reality Modeling Language. Technically speaking, VRML is neither virtual reality nor a modeling language. Virtual reality typically implies an immersive 3D experience (such as a head-mounted display) and 3D input devices (such as digital gloves). VRML neither requires nor precludes immersion. Furthermore, a true modeling language would contain much richer geometric modeling primitives and mechanisms.

Short answer: VRML is about building 3D content on the Internet. Java3D is an application programming interface (API) for drawing 3D graphics using the Java language. These are different approaches to 3D that may be compatible. VRMLµÄÊÇÓÃÀ´ÔÚÍøÂçÉϽ¨Á¢3DµÄÄÚÈÝ¡£Java3DÊÇÓÃJavaÓïÑÔ»æÖÆ3DͼÐεÄÓ¦ÓóÌÐò½Ó¿Ú(API)¡£Á½ÕßÊÇͬһ¸ö3D»¯µÄ²»Í¬²½Öè¡£ Sun has joined the Web3D Consortium to promote the compatibility and interoperability of Sun’s Java 3D API (Java 3D) technology and the VRML 97 standard.

The Fractal World Explorer can (as of version 1.2a) export it's maps as VRML worlds. VRML, or Virtual Reality Modeling Language, is a language for describing 3d scenes. After creating a VRML world, you can then navigate in 3d around your map. To learn how to view the VRML worlds you've created see How do I view the VRML output. If you're familiar with VRML, you may wish to tweak the base VRML template used by FWE to suit your tastes.

The Web3D Consortium is the only industry forum for creating and promoting open standards for 3D on the Web. We are welcoming to any such standard, or to provide a path for a 3D technology to become an open standard. Open standards are desired for the following reasons: The Consortium is currently supporting the X3D (Extensible 3D) effort and the RM3D (Rich Media 3D) efforts as further Web3D open standards.

Never happened. Rather than incrementally improve 1.0, the VRML community made the leap to 2.0 specification development. August 4, 1996 working draft by the VRML community. This was an unofficial draft. This draft was presented to the ISO committee as a Committee Draft (CD) and used to gain approval to move to the next phase, a DIS. December, 1997, ISO/IEC 14772-1:1997. This is the approved international standard hereafter called VRML 97. The VRML specification is stable.

The VRML 97 specification is an international standard published in December 1997 as ISO/IEC 14772-1:1997.

VRML 2.0 was an earlier draft (August 1996) that led to the offical standard VRML97. VRML97 is the informal name for ISO 14772 (International Standard). VRML97 obsoletes VRML 2.0. VRML97 is 98% compatible with VRML 2.0. The many *editorial* differences in the document itself are listed in detail in the Responses document:

To view the 3d VRML world that can be created using the Export to VRML feature, you'll need a VRML viewer. Typically a VRML viewer is in the form of a web browser plug-in. Versions 4 and later of Microsoft's Internet Explorer ship with a VRML viewer, while Netscape does not ship with one. In either case, NBOS recommends downloading and installing the Cortona VRML Client from ParallelGraphics, http://www.parallelgraphics.com.

VRML "worlds" got their name from an original goal of VRML: shared virtual worlds on the Internet. VRML worlds can be single files or groups of files that load at the same time. They can range from simple objects to very complex scenes, but never include the entire geometry and all the features of the earth, so there's some hope of downloading them in your lifetime.

A good starting point is Aereal BOOM!, which has more than 1000 VRML URLs. Another place to try out is Serch.

Briefly, VRML 1.0 worlds are static. VRML 2.0 worlds can move and interact with the visitor to those worlds. Here's a summary: Define and reuse objects and behaviors and effectively add new nodes to the language with PROTO and EXTERNPROTO Another very important difference is that VRML 97 is an international spec approved by the International Organization for Standards: ISO/IEC-14772-1:1997 and VRML 1.0 isn't.

Oh. You wanted to know which of the two to build your world in. A page at the VRMLworks covers the factors that might influence your choice. There is pretty general agreement on comp.lang.vrml that you should not build a new VRML 1.0 world with Live3D extensions, since some VRML 97 browsers don't support them, and most of the new worlds I see out there are built in VRML 97.

VRML isn't a general purpose programming language like C++, a script language like JavaScript or a page specification language like HTML. It's a scene description language that describes the geometry and behavior of a 3D scene or "world".

A VRML file is, until a compressed binary format is approved, a plain UTF-8 or ASCII (a subset of the UTF-8 character set) text file. A VRML file may be compressed using gzip, a freely available utility, and may be created, viewed, and edited in any plain text editor.

The MIME type of a VRML file is "model/vrml", although some servers may deliver it as the older MIME type "x-world/x-vrml". The spec requires VRML browsers to support both MIME types. If you administer a web server, you should use the official type, not the older "x-" type.

The one you have now is best, and everybody already agrees with you. Please don't discuss this on comp.lang.vrml, though questions about which browsers support a particular feature are fine. For information on VRML browsers, the standard source is the VRML Repository's list of browsers. You may also wish to check:

For most platforms, the answer is yes. The VRML repository has a list of browsers and the platforms they can run on. Alas, there is neither a web browser nor a VRML browser for my Radio Shack Color Computer. Just in case you miss this on the VRML Repository, Cosmo Software and Intervista both have VRML browsers for the Mac. This is currently one of the most frequently asked questions on comp.lang.vrml, so you definitely aren't alone.

Get a VRML browser. There is a list of browsers on the VRML Repository. There is a section in the VRMLworks on selecting, installing, and troubleshooting a VRML browser. Learn some VRML. There is a list of tutorials at the VRMLworks which lists not only tutorials but addresses of other lists of tutorials. Get a copy of the VRML spec from the VRML Consortium. There are free zip and archive files that contain the whole spec so that you can keep it on your own computer. Get a plain text editor.

Get an integrated VRML development system (called a modeler or a world builder) that has the capability to generate VRML models and behavior. There is a list of world building tools at the VRML Repository that can get you started. The VRMLworks has some criteria for selecting modelers to fit your experience and style. Not long ago you had to learn VRML even to get started.

But you shouldn't neglect any of the sites on the VRMLworks' list of general references and periodicals on the net.

There isn't one. VRML is plain text, and a VRML browser reads that text in and builds a scene according to the instructions it finds in your text file(s).

The one you're using is best and everybody already agrees with you. Discussions of what's best are generally less productive than discussions of specific features of browsers that are easy to use or hard to use. Besides, the people who develop those modelers sometimes lurk on the list, and they may take your idea and use it in the next revision. The VRML Repository has a list of modelers that can help you get started.

The ones you like best are the best, and everybody already agrees with you. It's far better to talk on the newsgroup about specific things you like and dislike about specific books. It helps if you describe yourself a little (e.g., "I don't remember 3D geometry from high school" or "I'm a C programmer"). The VRML Repository has a list of books, and the VRMLworks has some criteria for selecting a VRML book and reviews of current books.

The VRMLworks has a list of tutorials. Short answer: there's gobs. There's no excuse for not learning VRML.