xml-dev - RE: XML for 3D geometry and objects

["Brandt Dainow" <bd@internet-etc.com>]

I forgot to mention that Macromedia were part of the VML proposal, so I
guess we'll see VML in their products too.  I wonder what this'll mean for
Shockwave & Flash.  Irrespective of performance or quality, I  don't see how
SVG stands a chance against an MS/Macromedia alliance, they must control
something like 80-90% of all the authoring tools.  I guess we can also
expect HP to use VML in their printers.
Truetype was a combined HP/MS development as a response to Adobe's
postscript.  Are we going to see history repeat itself?

Brandt Dainow
bd@internet-etc.com
Internet Etc Ltd
http://www.internet-etc.com

>-----Original Message-----
>From: Didier PH Martin [mailto:martind@netfolder.com]
>Sent: Friday, January 21, 2000 4:16 AM
>To: Brandt Dainow; xml-dev@ic.ac.uk
>Subject: RE: XML for 3D geometry and objects
>
>
>Hi Brandt
>
>Brandt said:
>Maybe - Microsoft have standardized on (and deployed in
>Office2000) VML.  So
>now we have VML versus SVG.  SVG won't revolutionise anything
>while 90% of
>application users are running VML.
>
>I'm not qualified to take sides, but I don't think we need both.
>
>Didier replies:
>So what is happening is that Microsoft supports VML in office
>and that Adobe
>will support SVG is most of their products. Moreover, they'll
>provide a free
>renderer (which is already quite fast even if it is an alpha
>version). The
>actual 2 D drawing capabilities of SVG are far more superior
>to VML. There
>will be an Adobe plug-in for illustrator that will generate
>SVG files. This
>plug-in is also in alpha tests. A very useful feature of the
>Adobe browser
>add-on is that you can manipulate the SVG elements with a DOM,
>therefore you
>can have interactivity in addition to rendition. This is not
>the case with
>VML which is quite passive.
>
>Stay tune for their beta release due, I guess for this summer.
>or apply for
>their early testing program and become an alpha tester. I can
>tell you the
>add-on is funny to play with. For instance, I have a map SVG
>file and I can
>add or suppress map information layers with check boxes. I
>could do that
>because of the SVG DOM. Because of the availability of a
>_fast_ and _free_
>SVG renderer, the interest to provide drawings in this format
>may increase.
>By the way, the Adobe browser add-on works with both Mozilla
>(or Netscape)
>browser and IE. VML works only in IE. I made comparisons with
>actual Java
>applet based SVG renderers and I got a ratio of about 2 to 1
>and often even
>more difference in speed with the Adobe plug-in. Also, I created forms
>created from XML and transformed into SVG instead of HTML. And
>believe me,
>the results are surprising, you can now render nearly as seen on the
>original paper form. Also, this is not the case with the
>actual HTML forms.
>Same thing for part catalogs, I could create an highly
>interactive parts
>catalog using SVG and the DOM. Again, the result is a lot superior to
>WebCGM. Sorry, I can show my SVG stuff since you need the Adobe browser
>add-on, only if you are near New-York, I'll show that at the WebNewYork
>conference at the end of the month (ref: http://www.webfm.com)
>
>Cheers
>Didier PH Martin
>----------------------------------------------
>Email: martind@netfolder.com
>Conferences: Web New York (http://www.mfweb.com)
>Book to come soon: XML Pro published by Wrox Press
>Products: http://www.netfolder.com
>
>


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