Project Status - Spring 1999
VR Midtown Directory Structure
The VR Midtown files have been moved into a new directory structure.
The root is located at vrmidtown-1/vrm. The "work" directories contain
code that is in progress. The "product" directories should contain only
ready-to-run code. The document showing the directory structure is
"vrdir.doc", located in the docs directory.
The old VR Midtown directories are located under vrmidtown-1/vrmidtown.
Code Reviews
In the interest of insuring that groups stay on schedule with coding
projects, reducing long-term bugs, and maintaining better documentation,
VR Midtown has adopted a policy of Code Reviews. This process involves
producing a hard copy of code in progress and having team inspections and
reviews.
Graphics
The Graphics team has accompished a lot over the past two quarters.
Most notable were polygon culling, image clipping, and texture mapping.
Features to be implemented in the future include:
- Creation of an object hierarchy or abstraction standard.
- Definition of a default color and/or texture for objects.
(Note: This is related to object abstraction)
- The addition of multiple light sources.
Classview
The Classview part of the project involves the creation of a client that
allows a Java Native Interface for agent creation. The JNI has
currently been implemented to work with the NT Client. Unfortunately,
one bug has persisted in the code across several quarters. That bug is
the inability to see the agent created in the GUI viewer. Clients run
on SGI can see each other in their respective viewers, but clients
that originate from the JNI (connected to same server) cannot be seen.
The JNI client connection is acknowledged by the server, and other SGI
clients also acknowledge the connection of the JNI client.
The bug could be in the JNI, the server, the SGI client, or somewhere in
the communication between them. To fix the bug, I suggest establishing a
better way to monitor exactly what messages are being sent and received
between the clients and the server. Also, a detailed comparison of the
JNI client code and the SGI client code could prove useful.
Other items related to the JNI/NT Client:
- Stabilization of the NT GUI Viewer.
- Meeting with 1502 TA's once the JNI is functional.
Tools
The goal of the Tools group was to create a utility for editing and
storing objects for use within the virtual world. Currently, the tool
is implemented as a plug-in application in ALIAS that interfaces with
a MYSQL database for storing the objects. As of spring '99 the plug-in
will not load properly within ALIAS, but the database part is complete.
These two components need to be integrated properly. See the Tools page
for more information.
Server
Most of the goals for the networking group have been completed. Most
of the chat functionality has been implemented, and the server has
demonstrated good stability. Still to do:
- Implementation of multiple group chat functionality.
(see Communications layer doucment for more info.)
- More detailed monitoring of client information to aid in debugging.