Re: VRML usage

Laird A Popkin ([email protected])
Wed, 19 Apr 1995 18:01:32 -0500 (CDT)


On Wed, 19 Apr 1995, Jeff Sonstein wrote:

> >[snip ...]
> >
> >>Is VRML defined to be Client/Server, Peer-to-Peer, or Single System?
> >
> >IMHO I would say client / server ..
>
> I must admit, I cannot see any way to coord browser-browser interaction
> (several browsers who are "in" the same space and at least minimally aware
> of each other) w/o some form of server, and when I toss in *all* browsers
> being able to interact with the common objects and aware of the interactions
> of *others* with those common objects... oh my.

This problem has been solved, by the Defense Simulation Internet (DIS)
for the past ten (+?) years. All clients are also servers for
themselves. Thus, if I see you, my computer is a server to yours for my
appearance, and vice versa. Establishing the connections between objects
that see each other is tricky (DIS broadcasts, which doesn't scale beyond
thousands of objects) but isn't unsolveable. That is, I know of several
companies that claim to be able to handle it...