Frequenly Asked Questions

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What is VRML?
What kind of language is VRML?
What's a VRML world?
What is the format of a VRML file?
What filename extensions designate a VRML file?
What is comp.lang.vrml?
What's the difference between VRML 1.0 and VRML 97?
What's the difference between VRML 2.0 and VRML 97?
What do I need to view (or visit) a VRML world?
What VRML browser is best?
Is there a VRML browser for [Mac/Unix]?
How do I find out about VRML binary format?
What's the cheapest way to get started in VRML?
What's the easiest way to get started in VRML?
Where are the best places on the net to find out about VRML?

What is VRML?
VRML,  is an abbreviation for Virtual Reality Modeling Language. You might see some references to "Virtual Reality Markup Language", which is what VRML was called at the very beginning , taking its cue from HTML: Hypertext Markup Language . VRML is"an open standard for 3D multimedia and shared virtual worlds on the Internet."   Being able to talk and work in a 3D shared virtual space was one of the earliest motivations of the VRML pioneers.   Unlike previous 3D applications, using the Internet to share 3D objects and scenes was built into VRML from the very beginning. 

What kind of language is VRML?
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".

What's a VRML world?
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.

What is the format of a VRML file?
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.

What filename extensions designate a VRML file?
A VRML file ends in ".wrl". A VRML file name may end in ".wrl.gz" or ".wrz" to indicate that the file has been
gzipped, but this is not a necessary extension.

What is comp.lang.vrml?
The unmoderated USENET newsgroup comp.lang.vrml has been chartered for the purpose of discussions on VRML. This newsgroup has largely superseded alt.lang.vrml, the first newsgroup chartered for discussions of VRML.

What's the difference between VRML 1.0 and VRML 97?
Briefly, VRML 1.0 worlds are static. VRML 2.0 worlds can move and interact with the visitor to those worlds.
VRML 1.0:
Standard objects (cube, sphere, cone, cylinder, text)
Arbitrary objects (surfaces, linesets, pointsets)
Ability to fly through, walk through, examine scenes
use of Lights, Cameras (viewpoints), Textures on objects,
Clickable links, Define and reuse objects.
VRML 2.0:
All VRML 1.0 features plus Animated objects, Switches,
Sensors, Scripts (Java or JavaScript) for behaviors, Interpolators (color, position, orientation, etc.), Extrusions,
Background colors and textures, Sound (.wav and MIDI),
Animated textures, Event routing, 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. 

What's the difference between VRML 2.0 and VRML 97?
There isn't any. But here's an important warning: there were several working draft specs developed between 1995 and
the end of 1997. Some of those drafts are still out there, and they differ in small, but sometimes vital, ways from the
final spec. Make sure you're asking or answering a question based on the final international spec (IS), not an earlier draft.

What do I need to view (or visit) a VRML world?
You need a VRML browser. There are three kinds of VRML browsers:  1.A stand-alone application. You can compile stand-alone applications that can view and manipulate VRML worlds with development kits such as Open Worlds, JVerge, WorldView for Developers.  2.A helper application: A helper application has all the capabilities it needs to view and manipulate VRML worlds and doesn't need to be compiled. You generally identify a program like this to your web browser as a helper application, much as you do for a PostScript or Microsoft Word viewer, and whenever the web browser
receives a link to a VRML world, it will launch the helper application. Many helper applications will call on the
web browser when they activate a link for an HTML page.  3. Plugins use the facilities provided by many web browsers to display VRML worlds in your web browser. The two most popular VRML plugins are WorldView  for Microsoft Internet Explorer and Cosmo Player for Netscape Navigator and Communicator. Many versions of web browsers come with a VRML plugin pre-installed.
It is  not necessary to use a particular VRML browser with a particular web browser, unless the VRML browser maker says that their VRML browser will not work with a particular web browser.   VRML helpers and plugins are free.

What VRML browser is best?
For information on VRML browsers, the standard source is the VRML Repository's list of browsers (see Links).

Is there a VRML browser for [Mac/Unix]?
For most platforms, the answer is yes. The VRML repository has a list of browsers and the platforms they can run on.  Cosmo Software and Intervista both have VRML browsers for the Mac.

I downloaded a VRML world to study it and it seems to be in some kind of binary format. How do I find out
about VRML binary format?
Many VRML content developers want to minimize download time for their visitors, so they compress the file using gzip, a free compression utility which you can download for most platforms from the Free Software Foundation at ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/. There is a utility called gunzip which will turn the file back into plain ASCII text. To work around a bug in some web browsers, many authors choose to name those gzipped worlds "foo.wrl" instead of "foo.wrl.gz", the default file name that gzip generates. There is currently no compiled or binary format for VRML, but there is an active Working Group in the VRML Consortium that's developing one.

What's the cheapest way to get started in VRML?
1.Get a VRML browser.   2.Learn some VRML. There is a list of tutorials on "Learn it" link which lists not only tutorials but addresses of other lists of tutorials.  3.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.  4.Get a plain text editor. On Windows machines, Notepad is fine. Microsoft Word and similar word processing applications will not do the job unless they have a save to plain ASCII feature, since word processors generally insert some special characters that your VRML browser won't understand. If you're used to vi on Unix systems, there is a free vi clone for a number of platforms called vim.  5.Get some public domain models and textures to put into your world.    6.Get some freeware tools that can help with your world building.  Total cost so far: zero. Many excellent VRML worlds have been built for the same price.  The very first thing you should spend money on is a good VRML book. The VRML Repository has a list of books, and the "Books" link has some criteria for selecting a VRML book and reviews of current books. Now that you've decided you love VRML and need to do more than your current tools allow, get some of the excellent modeling, conversion, and post-production tools that are out there. The VRML Repository has a list of tools ranging from freeware to several hundred US dollars.

What's the easiest way to get started in VRML?
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.  Not long ago you had to learn VRML even to get started. Now it's perfectly possible to build very decent worlds without learning VRML just as you can now build perfectly good web pages without learning HTML.   As you grow in experience with VRML, you'll probably discover that many modelers produce worlds that are too big to render efficiently. You may also find that very subtle effects are beyond the resolution of some modeling tools.

Where are the best places on the net to find out about VRML?
Click the links Button to find the answer to this question.
Of course there are many more FAQ's out there.  Some of them can be found by clickiing the  "Learn It" Button.