Introduction
MuPAD graphics are one of the most impressive graphics one can produce using a Computer Algebra System. In order to display graphics on the computer screen (note -- in Windows only), MuPAD uses OpenGL interface developed by Microsoft for their Windows operating systems. Therefore, while developing graphics in MuPAD we can use all features of OpenGL and create very realistic images of mathematical objects. Virtual Camera, in short VCam, enclosed with MuPAD allows us to manipulate the graphics in almost the same way like we manipulate physical objects in real life.
For quite a while I have been thinking on how graphics created in MuPAD can be transformed to the web acceptable formats so we can still enjoy a good quality graphics and manipulation similar to this that is available in VCam. One of the possible solutions was to use JavaView created by Dr Konrad Polthier from Zuse Institute in Berlin. However, at this time JavaView did not have all features available in MuPAD graphics. Moreover, JavaView did not understand the formats of graphics files produced by MuPAD. Therefore, there was a need to develop a program that will convert one of the graphics formats produced by VCam into one of the formats that is understood by JavaView.
A solution came in November 2003 when Dr Klaus Drescher produced the very first version of the program xvc2jvx, a converting tool from XVC to JVX format. The XVC is an XML based format of graphics files in MuPAD, while the JVX format is the native format of JavaView, and is also XML based. Since this moment I have spent hundreds of hours developing mathematical objects in MuPAD, converting them to JavaView, comparing original graphics created in MuPAD with the graphics that I was getting in JavaView, and pushing both my colleagues to add some particular features in the converter or in JavaView. Finally, after almost two years my work was formalized as a research project, called Virtual Models, and since September 2005 sponsored by Zayed University. At the time of writing this text the Virtual Models project has still long way to go. However, most of major problems was solved, and in 90% of examples, graphics created in MuPAD look identical, or almost identical, like the ones obtained by converting MuPAD file to JavaView and displayed in JavaView.
In these pages I show results of works in transforming MuPAD graphics to JavaView. As I did mention it earlier, this project was carried out for many months and presented here showcase does not reflect the intermediate steps, discussions and different solutions that we worked out on the way. Here I include results that are final, or almost final. There are still a few issues that were not solved until the date when these pages were last time updated.
This is important to mention that both MuPAD as well as JavaView are in intensive development. Therefore, display of some enclosed here models may change depending on which version of JavaView we upload on the web server. More information about the whole project as well as some technical issues are on model pages and in the Documents section.
JavaView is software written by Konrad Polthier with contributions of Klaus Hildebrandt, Eike Preuß, Ulrich Reitebuch, and others, see the list of contributors in the About menu of JavaView. Program xvc2jvx was developed by Klaus Drescher. All examples and documents on this web site by Mirek Majewski.
February 2009 Note
In February 2009 the MJV web site was moved to a new location at the 50Webs server. A few minor updates were done both in web pages and CSS styles. The newer JavaView version replaced the old one (2005 year version).
Miroslaw Majewski
New York Institute of Technology, Abu Dhabi