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Subject: 10. VRML IS A TEXT-BASED LANGUAGE
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TIME: Complete this section within 10 minutes
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VRML files are plain text (raw ASCII text). They can be compressed with
gZip to save time downloading (a common and freely available ZIP 
utility -- search CNET for "Zip" if you are interested in ZIP tools), 
in which case the browser simply decompresses the file and reads the 
text commands. If you come upon a compressed VRML file and try to view
it in your text editor it'll look like a bunch of very strange characters;
use a tool like WinZip (http://www.winzip.com/) to decompress such files.

VRML, like most Web3D technologies, is a scene-graph based programming 
language. Developers use programming units called "nodes" to assemble 
objects and behavior into a scene graph data structure. 

Look at the various VRML examples provided in the VRML97 Specification
(view the "D Examples" section of the VRML97 spec). Here you'll see 
screen shots (bitmap images) of the 3D scenes rendered by the VRML
code shown for these examples. 

See "Section 02. VIRTUAL REALITY MODELING LANGUAGE (VRML)" 
of tonight's online class notes for the exact steps you'll take
to find the "D Examples" area of the VRML97 spec.
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Aaron E. Walsh  http://www.gridinstitute.com/people/aew/  617.350.7119
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