JavaOpenGL 1.0a3

©Copyright 1997 Jack Palevich, All Rights Reserved

mailto:javaopengl@palevich.com

The JavaOpenGL Web page is at http://www.palevich.com/3dfx.

Introduction

JavaOpenGL is a set of Java classes that let you program the OpenGL API on a Windows 95 or Windows NT box. Most of the Open GL API is supported.

JavaOpenGL works both with the stock OpenGL32.dll file supplied by Microsoft, and the 3Dfx specific version provided as part of Id Software's GLQuake.

I wrote JavaOpenGL for fun, because I like programming in Java, and I wanted to program my 3Dfx card. I hope you find it useful.

I have no affiliation with 3Dfx Interactive, SGI, or Microsoft, other than as a satisfied customer.

How to Install JavaOpenGL

Requirements

In order to install and use JavaOpenGL, you'll need the following: Optionally, you might also want:

Downloading

JavaOpenGL is available at http://www.palevich.com/3dfx/JavaOpenGL.zip. To use it, unpack the ZIP file using a program like WinZip. When you unpack it, be sure to unpack it with the directory structure intact.

Once you've unpacked the ZIP file, cd to the JavaOpenGL directory and run Install95.bat or InstallNT.bat, depending upon your OS. This will copy the JavaOpenGL dll file to your system directory.

Uninstalling JavaOpenGL

To un-install JavaOpenGL, cd to the JavaOpenGL directory and run uninstall.bat. This will delete the JavaOpenGL.dll from your system directory.

Running the Demo

In order to run the demo, you must edit the file JavaMesaTests/Tex.bat:
  1. Change the JAVADIR variable to be wherever your Java VM is located.
To run the demo, double-click on Tex.bat. The demo will run, and you will see a window open that says "Open GL". The window should show a spinning texture mapped cube. If you have a 3Dfx VooDoo card, the window will be blank, and you should see the animation on the VooDoo output. (To Quit close the window. If you can't see the window because you've got a VooDoo card, type ESC, 'Q', or Shift+F4) Here's a picture of the output:

If you get an error that says something like "program not found", check that you've edited the JAVADIR variable in Tex.bat.

If you get an error that says something like "Couldn't link class", check that you've installed OpenGL32.dll, and that you've run install.bat to install the JavaOpenGL dll.

Programming using JavaOpenGL

About the JavaOpenGL API

JavaOpenGL is based upon: You can get excellent on-line documentation about Open GL from: If you have a 3Dfx VooDoo or VooDoo Rush card, you can get a hardware accellerated version of the OpenGL32.dll library. To use it, copy it to the same directory as the Java program you've written. e.g. to use it with the tests, copy it to the JavaMesaTests directory. (Note that the 3Dfx VooDoo OpenGL library only implements some of OpenGL. Check this web site for details:)

The Java Open GL syntax

The syntax of the Java Open GL bindings is described in Readme.txt. The JavaOpenGL API is basicly the Open GL API that's been slightly Java-ized. Just drop the "gl" or "gu" prefix, and the type postfix, and add the class. Code that looks like this:
glClearDepth(1.0f); 
glDepthFunc(GL_LEQUAL); 
glEnable(GL_DEPTH_TEST); 
glDepthFunc(GL_LESS); 
glTranslatef(1.0f,1.0f,0.0f); 
Would turn into this:
import OpenGL.*; 

OpenGLwidget gl = new OpenGLwidget(); 
gl.clearDepth(1.0); 
gl.depthFunc(gl.LEQUAL); 
gl.enable(gl.DEPTH_TEST); 
gl.depthFunc(gl.LESS); 
gl.translate(1.0f,1.0f,0.0f); 
It doesn't matter what you call the OpenGLwidget object -- you might as well give it a short name like "gl".

Recompiling JavaOpenGL

You normally won't have to recompile JavaOpenGL. However, you might want to recompile JavaOpenGL to add new functions, or to make it work with a different version of Java.

There are here are the steps to recompiling JavaOpenGL:

  1. Edit the Java class files.
  2. Generate the C stub files
  3. Edit the C implementation files.
  4. Compile and Link the DLL.
You will need a C compiler like Microsoft Visual C++ 4.1 to compile the C code.

Study the file MakeStubs.bat for information on how to generate the stub files. You will have to edit the JAVABASE and  JAVAMESASOURCE variables to match your configuration.

Copyrights and Copylefts

Java OpenGL is (probably) copyrighted by Leo Chan. JavaOpenGL, which is my repackaging of this library to use with Windows and OpenGL32.dll,  is copyrighted by me. What does this mean? It means that if you want to use this code in a game you'll have to talk with Leo Chan to get the rights to use the Java bindings, and to me to get the rights to use the JavaOpenGL.dll.

Practically speaking, it means you're free to experiment with this code, and to give it away with freeware or shareware. If you plan on making serious money, though, you will have to negotiate with me (and Leo Chan, too.) I expect that most people will just use this library as a stop-gap until there are publicly available 3D graphics bindings for Java that aren't encumbered by licencing requirements.

To Do

Release Notes

Version 1.0a3

Version 1.0a2

Version 1.0a1