Why Java is a requisite feature in building a viable Web browser today, and will soon be available on most desktops, can be seen when examining the breadth of the language's acceptance. The widespread adoption of Java by every major OS manufacturer has solidified Java's claim as the Internet programming language of choice. The primary reason Java is of value to the VRML community lies in its ability to control VRML-defined objects. With Java, 3D objects on the Web can adopt behaviors, providing a critical enhancement to this otherwise reasonably passive environment. Simply put, Java enables programmable characteristics to be mated to VRML 2.0 objects.
Big companies know that.
The promotional piece helped make the First-Contact site the most popular movie Web site of all time, receiving over 5.7 million hits per day. The game was a first-person shooter that tasked the player with eliminating a series of aggressive Borg. It may well prove to be to the VRML community what Doom was to the gaming community - an eye opener, but just the beginning. The BigBook 3D team plans to use these technologies together in a number of ways. Currently seeing 7 percent VRML 2.0 compatibility in his visitor's browsers, Clay adds that BigBook 3D's migration to the 2.0 spec will coincide with Netscape's embedding VRML 2.0 functionality into Navigator.