One of the nice things about a standard like VRML is that it allows independent developers, researchers and hobbyists to create a variety of useful support tools. Even though VRML is a relatively new standard, there are already a number of translators, generators and miscellaneous utilities.
[WCVT2POV] [NFF2VRML] [FRGEN] [LPARSER] [LWTOIV] [OBJ2WRL] [ivToVRML] [FOREST]
A programmer named Keith Rule has created WCVT2POV, a Windows-based program that supports eight of the most popular formats and can convert them to (among other things) VRML. Incidentally, it can also convert to a format called POV, used by the Persistence Of Vision raytracing program.
Supported Platforms:
Co-author Bernie Roehl has written this NFF to VRML converter. It's a quick hack, and doesn't support textures or 24-bit color specifiers (only 12-bit). It also doesn't handle the normals and shading quite right. On the plus side, check out the complete source code if you're a C programmer. If you do make improvements, please drop Bernie some e-mail.
Supported Platforms:
Yet another cool program by Bernie which will grow a single tree into a grove of trees of varying sizes and random placements. The source code is available on this one, too!
Supported Platforms:
FRGEN is a freeware program written by Steve Anger. It uses fractal techniques to create a variety of terrain, from gently sloping desert plains to rugged mountains. It can produce output in a variety of formats..
Supported Platforms:
LPARSER is a freeware L-system software package created by Laurens J. Lapre. It takes a filename on the command line; the grammar (axiom and production rules) are read from that file. It uses fractal techniques to create a variety of terrain, from gently sloping desert plains to rugged mountains, and produces output in a variety of formats. Included in the package is C. J. van der Mark, jr.'s LV2POVID, which converts the output of Lj. Lapre's LVIEWER and LPARSER to a scene file for POVRAY v1/2, and ViVid v2.0..
Supported Platforms:
IMAGE2WRL reads an SGI format file and converts the first channel into a grid in a VRML wrl file format. The grey value of the image is translated into the height of each grid point .
Supported Platforms:
LWTOIV is a fairly simple 3D object conversion program to convert from the Lightwave 3D object file format into Open Inventor 2.0 files. It was developed on an SGI, and the source will only compile on a machine with C++ and the Open Inventor developer's option installed. For those without C++ or the Open Inventor developer's option, an executable is included that should run on any SGI machine running IRIX 5.3 that supports OpenGL and Open Inventor. .
Supported Platforms:
OBJ2WRL, by John Moreland of the San Diego Supercomputer Center, reads a Wavefront obj file and outputs the geometry in VRML wrl file format.
Supported Platforms:
ivToVRML converts Inventor data files to VRML format. Input files can be either ascii or binary, and can be in Inventor 1.0 or 2.0 formats. Output files will be VRML 1.0 ascii format.
Supported Platforms:
QUE Home Page
For technical support for our books and software
contact support@mcp.com
© 1996, Que Corporation