| Developer(s) | Sun Microsystems & JogAmp Community |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 1.7.0
/ January 25, 2020 |
| Preview release | -
/ - |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Type | 3D computer graphics software (library/API) |
| License | GPL version 2+GPL linking exception |
| Website | JogAmp's Java3D Continuation forum |
Java 3D is a scene graph-based 3D application programming interface (API) for the Java platform. It runs on top of either OpenGL or Direct3D until version 1.6.0, which runs on top of Java OpenGL (JOGL). Since version 1.2, Java 3D has been developed under the Java Community Process. A Java 3D scene graph is a directed acyclic graph (DAG).
Compared to other solutions, Java 3D is not only a wrapper around these graphics APIs, but an interface that encapsulates the graphics programming using a true object-oriented approach. Here a scene is constructed using a scene graph that is a representation of the objects that have to be shown. This scene graph is structured as a tree containing several elements that are necessary to display the objects. Additionally, Java 3D offers extensive spatialized sound support.
Java 3D and its documentation are available for download separately. They are not part of the Java Development Kit (JDK).