VRML (now also known as ISO standard X3D) is the standard 3D graphics file format for the Internet and World Wide Web. It is widely accepted as both an exchange format and a multimedia content type. VRML browsers and authoring products are proliferating, but until now there were no high level programming tools for C++ application developers. Open Inventor combines the new standard Internet 3D graphics file format with the de facto standard 3D graphics class library.
The following pages introduce Open Inventor programmers to the special aspects of using VRML nodes in Open Inventor programs. It is also intended to emphasize the fact that VRML nodes are, in every sense, Open Inventor nodes, subject to all the powerful capabilities of the Open Inventor toolkit. This paper assumes the reader is already somewhat familiar with both Open Inventor and the VRML (X3D) specification. There are resources for both listed in the reference section.