Viewing VRML files on Ubuntu

[Ric Moore]

On Mon, 2011-01-03 at 04:45 +0200, Ari Torhamo wrote:
> su, 2011-01-02 kello 16:54 -0500, Ric Moore kirjoitti:
> 
> > If you didn't install the executable in someplace in the path
> > like /usr/bin or /usr/local/bin, then to execute the binary or script in
> > it's present directory just use: ./nameofbinary  on the command line.
> > It's the ./ that tells the OS it is OK to run the binary from it's
> > present location, instead of an official binary directory. Hope that
> > helps. Ric
> 
> Thanks for replying, Ric. With Octagaplayer the problem doesn't seem to
> be Ubuntu not seeing the executable file, but some file missing.
> 
> I found a program called Jmol, which is GPL and apparently quite
> popular. It written in Java, and works both as a browser applet and a
> stand alone application. I had to install Sun/Oracle Java to get it to
> work properly, though. I found some high quality content to be viewed
> with the program, although so far only for browser embedded view. VRML
> files should work too, although I'm not quite sure, which applet Firefox
> is using at present to show the VRML files. Viewing with browser is
> surprisingly fast, although loading the 3D model takes some
> time. ...duh, Jmol just stopped working stand-alone. Terminal gives this
> error message:
> 
> Exception in thread "main" java.awt.HeadlessException
> 	at
> java.awt.GraphicsEnvironment.checkHeadless(GraphicsEnvironment.java:173)
> 	at java.awt.Window.<init>(Window.java:437)
> 	at java.awt.Frame.<init>(Frame.java:419)
> 	at java.awt.Frame.<init>(Frame.java:384)
> 	at javax.swing.JFrame.<init>(JFrame.java:174)
> 	at org.openscience.jmol.app.jmolpanel.JmolPanel.startJmol(Unknown
> Source)
> 	at org.openscience.jmol.app.Jmol.main(Unknown Source)
> 
> Re-installing Java didn't help. I hope the browser plugin keeps working,
> as I'd like to use more time to look at the molecules, than to try to
> get viewer software to work... 

I run a very graphically intensive java application, Open Wonderland,
and we have scores of people on the mail list seeing blank or black
screens... or failures of all sorts. They almost always fail because of
a video driver not being configured properly or the user has something
like compiz running. You may wish to get the java source, if possible,
and recompile it yourself using ant. If there are any hiccups regarding
dependencies, it will let you know. Now that Sun/Oracle has GPL'd java I
see no huge reason to push the IcedTea stuff on users. If you have it,
remove it, that is my opinion. Ric


-- 
My father, Victor Moore (Vic) used to say:
"There are two Great Sins in the world...
..the Sin of Ignorance, and the Sin of Stupidity.
Only the former may be overcome." R.I.P. Dad.
Linux user# 44256