WebGL draft spec brings 3D web a step closer

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 14 Dec 2009 at 11:45

The Khronos group, which is working to bring hardware-accelerated graphics to the browser, has announced the first draft specification of its WebGL standard.

The group has been working with Mozilla, Apple, Google and Opera on the standard, which lets Javascript applications tap into the OpenGL graphics interface.

"The release of the draft specification is one step in bringing about a plugin-free 3D API to the web, usable straight out of the box," notes Arun Ranganathan, Mozilla's standards evangelist.

Participation from the web community is essential towards finalising the specification, which we hope to do in the first quarter of 2010

"For one thing, it means more developers can get involved in the evolution of WebGL. Participation from the web community is essential towards finalising the specification, which we hope to do in the first quarter of 2010," he adds.

Despite the specification only being in draft, developer builds of all the major browsers - except Internet Explorer - have WebGL built in. The technology could pave the way for 3D chatrooms and virtual worlds that don't require massive downloads first.

However, while work on WebGL may be progressing at speed, it's not the only 3D party in town. Google is working on its own O3D project alongside WebGL, which is currently available as a plugin.

Anybody looking to try out WebGL will need an OpenGL 2-capable graphics card, and the latest developer build of their chosen browser.

The news will come as particularly grim reading for Microsoft, which has placed 3D acceleration at the heart of its Internet Explorer 9 development.