Mittwoch, 24. Februar 2010

First official release of GwtGL - a WebGL binding for GWT

We recently released the first version of GwtGL.
GwtGL offers a GWT binding to enable developers to code WebGL apps using the Java language and toolset.

WebGL is a new web standard for hardware accelerated 3D graphics in web browsers. Soon all major web browsers (Firefox, Safari, Chrome, IE) will support WebGL - at the moment most of these browsers offer preview version that can be used to experience WebGL powered apps.
WebGL is based on OpenGL ES, so porting apps and games to the web is quite easy.

So, why do you need GwtGL when you could use WebGL directly?
WebGL is a javascript API, so you would have to program your application using Javascript. IMHO, this is a real pain for apps that are more complex than simple examples.
This is where GwtGL comes into play. Using GwtGL, which is Open Source and free to use, you can develop WebGL apps using the Java language, using your favorite Java IDE (e.g. Eclipse), using powerful Java tools.
GWT, GwtGLs underlying technology, uses a cross-compiler to compile your Java code to Javascript that can be run in the web browser. The compiler optimizes your code, so your app will probably run faster than it would if you coded it in Javascript directly.



The first release of GwtGL offers a complete binding for WebGL, so everything that is possible with WebGL directly is also possible using GwtGL. Besides that, GwtGL offers a wrapper layer on top of the binding to allow the developer to program in an object oriented, easier way. We also released a documentation with explanations and tutorials, and some examples that you can use as a starting point for your own apps.

I hope you enjoy using GwtGL!

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