What framework is google body browser built upon (if any)?

Question

Can someone help me understand which framework (if any) is Google Body browser developed with?

OK, it's WebGL and Javascript, but are they using some GWT extension that allows WebGL interaction or are they writing the js by hand and then minifying or some other framework?

Any help appreciated.

Dudes, please, if you're voting to close let me know where you think I should I post this. I want to do something similar and I am just trying to understand what technology they're using, I don't see hwy you should close it (FFS). — JohnIdol, May 23 '11 at 10:36
Can't imagine why this would get close votes, specially when we keep silly questions like [how's every google doodle implemented](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4933306/how-does-todays-jules-verne-googles-doodle-work). — Kobi, May 23 '11 at 11:10

Ilmari Heikkinen · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-28T04:00:12.040

9

The library it's using is called tdl.js http://code.google.com/p/threedlibrary/

And here's the Google I/O session on the Google Body Android port http://www.google.com/events/io/2011/sessions/3d-graphics-on-android-lessons-learned-from-google-body.html

[edit]

Google Body was open sourced, woop! http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2012/01/google-body-becomes-zygote-body-built.html

You can check out the source code from http://code.google.com/p/open-3d-viewer/

edited Jan 28 '12 at 04:00

answered May 23 '11 at 13:01

Ilmari Heikkinen

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Thanks for your help - how did u figure this out? – JohnIdol May 23 '11 at 13:04
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I remembered talking to the guy who wrote it a couple weeks ago. Then grepped the sources for "tdl" to verify. I'll ask if he can share some more details about how it was built. – Ilmari Heikkinen May 23 '11 at 13:13

sharp johnny · Answer 2 · 2011-05-23T12:20:17.017

there are several gwt webgl libraries/wrappers: http://code.google.com/hosting/search?q=gwt+webgl&projectsearch=Search+projects

I think they mentioned some webgl library in an googleio session, can't quite remember, but if you want to go for webgl and gwt, there might be some interesting sessions to watch. http://www.google.com/events/io/2011

If they didn't use GWT, they most probably wrote js and compiled it using Google Closure Compiler(Which gives several advantages over writing vanilla js), that's how google does it.

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered May 23 '11 at 12:56

It's using Google Closure Library (and compiler).

GWT generates code with a $gwt_version variable (and other functions and variables with gwt in their name), and that's not the case here. Looking for "goog" in the code of the Body Browser, you'll find a mention of goog.structs.SimplePool which is a Closure Library class: http://closure-library.googlecode.com/svn/docs/class_goog_structs_SimplePool.html

I don't know of any framework around WebGL (apart for things like ForPlay which totally abstractize it, so the same code can run in WebGL or canvas —or actually a plain JVM or even Flash as ActionScript—, but that's something entirely different, and GWT-based as far as ForPlay is concerned)

What framework is google body browser built upon (if any)?

3 Answers3