Article Review
Check out this great read, titled Running 3D graphics inside the browser with Three.JS. , by Thomas Peham.
Check out this great read, titled Running 3D graphics inside the browser with Three.JS. , by Thomas Peham.
Thomas Peham's
article does a great job of summarizing the key components of three.js.
The author begins with a brief background on WebGL and its role in GPU accelerated
content for browsers. Then he highlights how three.js makes it so that
programmers have to wirte a lot less code to do the same things with just WebGL.
This is key because we want the process of writing code to become faster and easier,
so that more content and software can be built by more people. Peham includes a
tutorial and step by step code so the reader can build a small project with three.js.
This is brillant because it shows the user they are capable of utilizing the technology
and summarizes the ease and efficieny that comes with the three.js library.
Key Concepts:
WebGL:
Stands for web graphics library, and it is an API which is utilized
to increase graphical performance of content on the browser. Supported
by most modern browsers and much more lightweight compared to alternative
solutions like plug-ins.
THREE.JS: Javascript library
that makes writing code for WebGL software easy and fun. The purpose of this
website is to guide you through getting familiar with this tech!
The possibilites for creating, designing, modeling, and so much more
are being expanded due to the wide spread adoption of libraries like
three.js. Articles like Peham's spread knowledge and awareness of
such software, which leads to development of even better software. Not
only do articles like this spread awareness, but they also encourage
new developers to start using it by proving them with easy to follow
documentation. The three.js library is documented very well, so it is
simple for an experienced programmer to learn the basics and then
build on it to bring their creative ideas to life.
Peham's article has several references to the main three.js library,
which helps the reader find the source code and practices of the
library from the creators themselves. Users who are interested in
learning three.js should refer to the
source documentation
often because it provides the most accurate solutions. If the task is quite
unique, there are other forums on stackoverflow which cover a lot of
different concepts and bugs that you may encounter while coding.
The key takeaway here is that there are a plethora of resources available,
so try to explore the web and let your curiosity guide you.