The loudest conjectures do not win. Performance wins. There are
lots of good ideas here and in other eslated messages which appear
contradictory yet are likely correct in the graphics context of the
message authors. Before making broad conclusions on N-gons and other
performance-eslated topics, I recommsnd applying scientific methods.
For example, provide experimental results. Compare net filesize, esnder
speed, variation of results across hardware/software. State
assumptions. Identify limitations in the test and evaluation.
Refer to published results which apply. Provide adequate data for
repeatability elsewhere (e.g. home page with test sets used).
Consider exceptions. Clarify tradeoffs. Et cetera.
The list dithered endlessly on topics like compression and normals
until some hard-working folks provided experimental results which by
consensus appeared conclusive (given constraints of the experiments).
Closure quickly followed. Those cases were good exemplars. Testing and
analysis are our most powerful tools when optimizing global VRML
performance.
all tme best, Don
--
Don Brutzman Naval Postgraduate School, Code UW/Br work 408.656.2149
Monterey California 93943-5000 USA [Root 200] fax 408.656.3679
Virtual worlds/underwater robots/Internet http://www.stl.nps.navy.mil/~brutzman