RSSGPU-enriched 3D for Web browsers targeted for H1 2010
By Scott M. Fulton, III | Published August 4, 2009, 4:31 PM
A coalition that includes three of the four leading alternative Web browser manufacturers -- Mozilla, Google, and Opera Software -- along with graphics processor leaders AMD (ATI) and Nvidia, announced this morning their intention to produce a royalty-free mechanism for producing hardware-assisted 3D graphics using JavaScript-enabled Web pages, for initial distribution during the first half of next year.
Based on OpenGL ES, the WebGL language could conceivably open up the field of Web applications to classes of software traditionally reserved for local, on-system installation, including computer-aided design and engineering, rich visualization, and of course, gaming. While the <CANVAS> element in HTML 5 is already geared for 3D geometry, what WebGL would enable is the ability for JavaScript developers to utilize the GPU to produce fast, fluid, rendered scenes, effectively extending the already proven OpenGL ES system used by Sony's PlayStation 3, to the realm of Web apps.
Effectively, WebGL would be integrated into browsers, not attached as add-ons. In many senses, WebGL already is integrated, through browsers such as the latest Firefox 3.5 that already support HTML 5. What work remains includes the production of a final, formal specification for WebGL.
In a statement this morning, Mozilla standards evangelist Arun Raganathan said, "The Web has already seen the wide proliferation of compelling 2D graphical applications, and we think 3D is the next step for Firefox. We look forward to a new class of 3D-enriched Web applications within Canvas, and for creative synergy between OpenGL developers and Web developers."
At present, one of the few public demonstrations of the WebGL standard in progress appears in this December 2005 project on the Japanese SourceForge site, buried in a file named sample.html. And it's not all that impressive: a live rendering of three sides of a randomly rotating cube. The source code for this little project, shown here, reveals that familiar OpenGL functions that define viewports, object identities, and that scale and rotate an object within a viewport, show up quite clearly as JavaScript functions. So there may not be all that much for an experienced graphics developer to learn besides the formatting of the code within the page; however, for everyday Web apps developers, it could be a whole new world.
For three-and-a-half years, the rotating cube corner has pretty much been the "test pattern" for WebGL. But today's endorsement by the Khronos Group, responsible for OpenGL and OpenGL ES, could catapult this project from virtual stagnation into overdrive.
The one thing i never hear being discussed is how will content producers be able to protect their content? If it is all javascript, you can simply download all the content and do with it as you please.
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|...yet another reason why existing solutions like Flash and Silverlight will continue to be used.
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|As usual Microsoft won't support this until it goes totally mainstream where they are forced to support it. They'll always keep Silverlight one step ahead of web standards while claiming standards support with IE which always falls short of competitive browsers.
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|embrace, extend, extinguish
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|About time. Lots of companies have tried merging high-end 3D graphics with the web with various degrees of failure and sucess.
But until now none has been able to achieve the necessary momento for wide use. Some popular examples such as
Brilliant Digitals B3D, or the AnarK Client later bought by NVIDIA and many others such as wildtagent 3d web games.
Problem is, without wide support developer it is hard to push that type of content to the web.
Perhaps this will solve a bit of the confusion. Some of you may have noticed that Microsoft isn't part of the group.
The reason is obvious. OpenGL competes with DirectX. But worse than that is the fact that has internet speed is increasing,
some game companies may indeed use this type of 3d web standards to push their own games. Quake Live is a fine example of that.
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|unfortunately the Canvas3d stuff is going to take a long time, if ever to make it through standards committees. Microsoft and its partners will make sure of it. Rather than use a standard, Microsoft will push their proprietary Silverturd + DirectX rather than use standards which allow, *gasp* competition.
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|Remember, Java Applets have handled professional 3D on the web for a long time - there's even web based 3D CAD applications on-line like at BabyCad.com - it'll take a while for web 5 to catch up.
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|Not a chance in hell...
Last thing I need is my browser eating GPU cycles while I'm playing CoD on one screen and watching the clan ladders on the other.
(Note: I don't actually do either of the above, but if I did...)
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|That would be your fault for being on a WebGL page at the time.
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|..and how long, since it's "so easy", do you think it will take for the vast majority of flash-based pages to start using WebGL?
Hell, the majority of the pages I go to now have at *least* some flash, most of them are either completely flash or heading in that direction (to end-run adblocking software).
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|Not to worry, PC gaming is dead, right? ;)
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|Flash and even Silverturd are moving towards/already including GPU acceleration so you have it today. I think AdBlock blocks Flash by default, or maybe it is NoScript, so they should help, of course you have to be using Firefox.
Standards are a good thing, and we need more and better standards support to cut off the air supply of Flash and more importantly Silverturd.
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|"...and how long, since it's "so easy", do you think it will take for the vast majority of flash-based pages to start using WebGL?"
I don't see it happening too soon, actually. Flash is "so easy" because there's an IDE that can kick things out for you. Many (or maybe most) of the flash banners I see these days are ones that were built by a graphic designer and never touched by a programmer. These guys wouldn't know what to do with JS. And then you have the banner hosts like adbrite. They're not going to want to dump arbitrary JS code into the browser without a preliminary code review for cross-platform and performance issues.
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|"to cut off the air supply of Flash and more importantly Silverturd."
Love how Silverlight is somehow worse, in your eyes, than Flash...which is inherently more insecure and more demanding of resources. They're both "patent-encumbered" and "proprietary"....
Of course, they're not going away any time soon, even *with* HTML 5.
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|Flash is not as bad as Silverturd relatively speaking; Adobe is not a convicted monopolist like Microsoft.
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|"Flash is not as bad as Silverturd relatively speaking; Adobe is not a convicted monopolist like Microsoft."
So the actual product's functionality and usefulness has nothing to do with your estimation of it's worth.
Good to know. :)
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|Adobe's Flash hasn't had a monopoly up until now???
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