CHAPTER 3 Getting started, Hello Java 3D! 3.1
CHAPTER 3 Getting started, Hello Java 3D! 3.1 Installation 3.2 Your first Java 3D application 3.3 Exercises for the reader 3.4 Summary Now the fun begins. It s time to begin conquering the Java 3D development environment, setting ourselves up for serious Java 3D fun in the chapters to come. I ll introduce a realistic Java 3D application to test your configuration, and allow you to experiment with some of the features described in later chapters. You ll look at a simple Java 3D example, SimpleTest, that illustrates building an AWT-based Java 3D application. The SimpleTest example uses the Sun utility classes MainFrameand SimpleUniverse(included with your Java 3D distribution) to hide some of the complexities that we will be delving into in the chapters to come. 3.1 Installation Our first step, obviously, is to install everything we need for Java 3D development. Refer to appendix B and the bibliography for useful sources of information or additional help. 3.1.1 Java 2 SDK Check the Sun web site (http://java.sun.com) and download the latest release. Java 2 SDK 1.3.1 (JDK 1.3.1) is the latest release at the time of print. You can also find it at http://www.javasoft.com/j2se/1.3/. Remove all previous versions of the SDK, JDK, or JRE prior to installing the new SDK. After installation launch the Java plug-in control applet from the Windows Control Panel and set the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) to the newly installed SDK location. This will enable running Java 3D applets using the Java 2 plug-in. 3.1.2 Java 3D 1.2 JDK Download the latest release of the Java 3D SDK at http://www.javasoft.com/products/java-media/3D/index.html. The OpenGL version of Java 3D has historically been more stable and ahead of the DirectX release in terms of features. At the time of print the latest release is Java 3D 1.2.1. You should install Java 3D into the same directory as the Java 2 SDK, typically c:jdk1.3. This will ensure that all your Java 2 demo applications are installed into the same place. You can then use REGEDIT to edit the Windows registry to remove all references to the JRE installation directory (which is also installed when you install the SDK). Replace all occurrences of c:program filesjavasoftjre1.3 with the SDK installation location, usually c:jdk1.3jre This will enable running the Java 3D demos from the command line, and ensure that only one Java 2 runtime environment is installed on your machine. Do not run REGEDIT unless you are an experienced Windows user and IMPORTANT familiar with editing the registry. It is not strictly necessary to remove all references to the JRE install location. 30
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