Release History

current beta		regular inbetween updates of JavaView, see beta versions on download page
v. 5.01		Major upgrade release of JavaView, March 2020.
v. 4.60		Major upgrade release of JavaView, December 2015.
v. 4.00		Major upgrade release of JavaView, September 2012.
v. 3.95		Major upgrade release of JavaView, October 2005.
v. 3.90		Fourth major release of JavaView, May 2005.
v. 3.84		Intermediate release of JavaView, January 2005.
v. 3.60		Intermediate release of JavaView, October 2004.
v. 3.03		Third major release of JavaView, November 2003.
v. 2.21		Second major release of JavaView, February 2002.
v. 2.12		Published on the companion CD of the book: Multimedia Tools for Communicating Mathematics
v. 1.00		Initial release in 1999, work started in 1996.

We aim at maximal backward compatibility of JavaView especially its software API and file format support.

New Features of JavaView 5.01 (Mar 2020)

soon/p>

New Features of JavaView 4.60 (Dec 2015)

A partial list of extensions in JavaView v4.60 since the previous release v4.00 are:

• Scene graph overlay in display, use TAB to switch visibility.
• New command line parameter jv-instDir allows setting of resources independent of codebase.
• System icons moved to rsrc from image subdirectory.
• Registration updated.
• Compatible with Mathematica 5.0 and later including Mathematica 10.0.
• Compatible with Maple 6 and later including Maple 2015.

New Features of JavaView 4.00 (Sep 2012)

JavaView 4.00 comes with a larger set of additional but tested and backward compatible functionality. Although is has taken a long time to release version 4.00 we have regularly made intermediate beta versions available to the general public and used in our own real world applications. A partial list of extensions in JavaView v4.00 since the previous release v3.95 are:

• Improved number and quality of geometry loaders.
• Compatible with Mathematica 5.0 and later.
• Compatible with Maple 6 and later.
• Linux RPM installation package upgraded to current JavaView version.

Compatibility of JavaView v4.00 with v3.95

• JavaView 4.00 should be compatible with all previous JavaView applets.
• The default rendering style is now z-buffer, i.e. the software rendering of JavaView is fully enabled and no AWT rendering. The JavaView rendering includes features like hidden surface removal and transparency as well as lighting of thick points and edges. Use display inspector to revert to original Java AWT rendering.
• New file format JVM for storing file and directory listings of model files introduced; replaces the previously used extension XML.

New Features of JavaView 3.95 (Oct 2005)

A partial list of improvements in JavaView v3.95 since the previous release v3.90.

• Improved light inspector, interactive positioning of lights, new light types and attributes.
• Parsing of Maple plots further improved, new plot commands and attributes completed
  new version JVL v3.22.
• Faster loading of large geometries, lower memory consumption.
• Linux RPM installation package provided.
• Initial color of surfaces changed to white from light blue.
• Surfaces loaded from an OBJ, OFF and some other files will no longer show edges by default.
• New options in Preferences dialog will allow to load vertices-only from large geometry files.
• Fractal tutorial improved, now calculates Julia sets from Mandelbrot moduli space.
• New earth explorer.
• XYZ loader for molecule files.
• Model viewer published, molecule viewer is an example.

Compatibility of JavaView v3.95 with v3.90

•  Edges are now disabled when surfaces are loaded from file unless the file format specifies other directions.
•  The fractal tutorial has a modified programming interface.
•  In Adaptive Size display mode, large scaled points and edges are slightly drawn smaller.
•  Default blue color of surfaces now slightly lighter.
•  Maple plots with scaling=unconstraint now adjust to aspect ratio of JavaView display additional to boxRatio.
•  The Maple and Mathematica packages now fully rely on calling the Sun Java VM. As a consequence, the executable javaview.exe is no longer bundled with Maple and Mathematica packages because of its dependence on the Microsoft virtual machine, see compatibility of JVMs.
•  The light tag of older JVD files will be correctly parsed and converted to new lighting tag when saved.

New Features of JavaView 3.90 (May 2005)

A partial list of improvements in JavaView v3.90 since the previous release v3.84.

• Additional PRINT menu entry in FILE menu opens dialog of local printer.
• Additional CLEAR menu entry in FILE menu to clear current project and display.
• Faster loading of large geometries, lower memory consumption.
• Faster z-buffered rendering
• Support of Maple assured, new version of JavaViewLib.
• Parsing of Maple plots seriously improved.
• Parsing of Off files improved.
• Loader for XYZ molecule files (in javaview.exe only)
• Windows installer provided
• Texture blending mode for alpha channel added.
• Opening of HTTPS connections added.
• Gif-anim in rotate-xy now rotates around intrinsic z-axis.
• Our JavaView enhanced Maple Power Tool is available again in version JVL 3.0.

Bug Removal

• Z-buffered rendering of elements no longer draws inner edges.
• Improved z-height calculations in perspective mode improves rendering of intersection faces.
• Unix batch file is in Unix-mode.
• Parsing of blanks in STL loader's solid name improved.

Compatibility of JavaView v3.95 with v3.90

•  Lighting switched on by default and replaces the previous depthcue.
•  ...

New Features of JavaView 3.84 (Jan 2005)

A partial list of improvements in JavaView v3.84 since the previous release v3.60.

• Serious speed improvements, especially in new 3D-Look mode
• Box ratio option in camera inspector allows non-uniform scaling of a scene.
• Global axes inspector improved.
• Improved generation of ticks (automatic and user-defined).
• New inspectors for individual rulers (<ctrl-1>,<ctrl-2>,<ctrl-3>).
• Configurable ruler label.
• Improved support of axes in JVD file.
• Mathematica import improved.
• Support of MuPAD (soon MuPAD website will provide usage information).
• Our JavaView enhanced webMathematica site is up again.

Bug Removal

• Slow rendering of labels under some Linux configurations (due to Java bug) solved.
• Some minor bug removal.

New Features of JavaView 3.60 (Oct 2004)

A partial list of improvements in JavaView v3.60 since the previous release v3.50.

• Label inspector.
• Memory consumption of empty display geometry reduced.
• Bug in HTML export removed.
• Improved transparency computation of intersecting surfaces.
• Lot of minor bug removal.

New Features of JavaView 3.50 (Aug 2004)

A partial list of improvements in JavaView v3.50 since the previous release v3.03.

• Improved lighting.
• Improved inspector for axis.
• Improved parsing for WRL / VRML geometry files.
• Improved handling of smooth color transitions.
• Textual detail information for vertices, edges and faces.
• Individual thickness of vertices and edges.
• Optional rendering of thick vertices and edges.
• Optional adaptive adjustment of vertex and edges sizes during scaling.

New Features of JavaView 3.03 (Nov 2003)

A partial list of improvements in JavaView v3.03 since the previous release v2.21.

User Interface

• Each display window now has an own (optional) menu bar in applications (not in applets).
• Export (ctrl-s) of multiple geometry files, camera configuration and images simultaneously.
• Vector fields now have an own inspector (ctrl-e) and several new methods.
• Expanded texture inspector (ctrl-t) and texture support.
• Four displays of the same scene (perspective, xy, xz, yz) via camera inspector.
• Active display shows a red border if multiple displays are open.
• Improved ambient transformations in hyperbolic and spherical space, and in dimensions > 3.
• Direct selection mode (shift-o) automatically selects a geometry when picking it during transformations.
• Perspectivity is now switched on by default in perspective camera mode.
• Adjustable clipping of scene at the bounding box via camera inspector.
• "Integer pick" constrains the dragging of vertices to an integer grid.
• Vertices are highlighted and identified with vertex label when in the pick focus.
• Geometry inspector now expands the index slot when window is expanded.
• Dialogs of geometry effect now include a textual description.

Rendering

• Anti-aliased rendering improved and accelerated.
• Smooth shading of surfaces colors (both vertex and elements colors).
• Smooth lighting and light inspector.
• Faster rendering in default mode and in z-buffer mode.
• Improved and faster transparency mode.
• Artifacts of edge in z-buffer mode removed (still visible in transparency mode).
• Different sub-sampling options of texture.
• Semi-transparent texture now either blends with surface material or makes the surface semi-transparent.
• Individual and smooth edge coloring.
• "Burning" produces a texture from the current lighting and shading (useful when exporting to Maya).

Resources

• Author and description information supported in JVX, inspector panel and export dialog.
• Configuration of JavaView with an optional JVR resource file (size of windows, fonts etc).
• Default export path editable via menu HELP->RESOURCE.
• Full internationalization support of jv.* and jvx.* packages including German and Serbian localizations.
• Registration requested for users of JavaView applications. Applets will not need a registration.
• Rendering and lighting of point clouds added.

File Formats

• Full support for display and camera configurations (JVD file format).
• New JVR file format for JavaView resource files.
• Minor compatible changes of the JVX file format.
• Rather complete support for Mathematica graphics and graphics options.
• New export dialog allows simultaneous saving of multiple file formats.

Geometry Effects

• Boolean intersections.
• Anisotropic smoothing of noisy surfaces.
• Extended collection of subdivision algorithms.
• Lego-like construction blocks as surface representation.
• Generation of parameter lines from mesh combinatorics.
• Reeb graph generation.
• Linear transformation of geometries (scaling, translation, rotation).
• Application of current transformation matrices to a geometry.
• Generation of reflected copies of a geometry.
• Increment and decrement of the vertex dimension of a geometry.

Software API

• New "workshop" concept for geometry effects with a uniform interface for effect.
• Loader interface expanded.
• ... (read the reference doc)

Compatibility of JavaView v3.03 with v2.21

•  Cancelled support of Microsoft CAB files in JavaView v3.0, see Compatibility of JVMs.

 

• Perspectivity

JavaView now uses perspectivity by default. Perspectivity may be switched off in the camera inspector by choosing a perspectivity value of 0. or by launching JavaView with the applet parameter

<param name="perspective" value="0.">

respectively the command line parameter

javaview "perspective=0." [geometry model]

Bug: The perspectivity in JVD files saved with v2.21 use a constant (unused) value 53.0. This value is no longer valid and transformed correctly by v3.0 and later.

Bug: Intermediate beta versions of JVD files (2.21 < ....< 2.99.030) might refer to non-existing images files in the background or foreground image. JavaView will issue a warning. Authors should load a JVD into JavaView, disable usage of the image in the display inspector and save the JVD again. An alternative is to remove the line referencing the images from JVD in a text editor.

• JVD Display and Camera Configuration Files

The JVD file format was in a beta status during the release of v2.21. The new version JavaView 3.0 now supports the full configuration of JavaView display and camera settings. Internally, the JVD parser of JavaView recognizes the old version. We suggest to load and save older JVD files with JavaView 3.0 although old JVD should load fine.

• JVX Files

Bug: the export filter of v2.21 inserted a wrong vertical alignment of labels. This bug is handled by v3.0 but throws a warning if encountered. This only applies to files saved with visible labels. Such files should be opened and saved with v3.0 or later.

• Software API

JavaView 3.0 should be compatible with most applets and applications based on v2.21. Re-compilation of existing sources might be necessary in some cases. Deprecated methods of the JavaView 3.0 API listed in the reference documentation should be replaced soon as indicated in the deprecation statement.

• Known Bugs in v2.21

If a geometry in a JVX file contained texture coordinates but no image element, then v2.21 fails to load throwing a null pointer exception. Therefore loading a JVX file with texture information may fail with v2.21. Solution: add a dummy image element by hand into the JVX file, or use a newer JavaView version.