What’s that?

The JavaScript API known as Web Graphics Library (WebGL) allows the rendering of interactive 2D and 3D computer graphics in any web browser that is compatible without the need for plug-ins.

Read More: WebGL animation generator

It is fully integrated into the browser’s web standards, enabling rapid use of physics, image processing, and effects as part of the web page canvas through the use of a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). Its components can be combined with other HTML components and added to other areas of the page, such as the background. WebGL applications are made up of shader code that runs on a computer’s GPU and control code written in JavaScript.

Although it is still mostly used by developers for games, it is already becoming more widely known online. These days, data graphing, presentations, and map visualizations are all done with it.

A little background information

From the Canvas 3D experiments that Vladimir Vukićević began at Mozilla, WebGL was born. In 2006, he gave a demo of a prototype Canvas 3D. By 2007’s conclusion, Opera and Mozilla had each created their own unique implementations. The WebGL Working Group was established in early 2009 by the nonprofit technology consortium Khronos Group, with early support from Mozilla, Opera, Apple, Google, and other companies. The WebGL standard was first published in version 1.0 in March 2011. One of the earliest WebGL apps is Zygote Body. Autodesk said in November 2012 that the majority of their locally installed WebGL clients have been moved to the cloud. Among these programs were AutoCAD 360 and Fusion 360. In 2013, work on the WebGL 2 standard began. The foundation of this protocol is OpenGL ES 3.0.

How Does WebGL Operate?

When compared to developing code that only manipulates the DOM, WebGL offers three unique advantages:

Assignments. It might be difficult to draw reflecting surfaces or intricate lighting. You might assign part of the work to your device’s GPU and let it handle the hard lifting with JavaScript.

Activity. With hardware acceleration provided by the GPU integrated into your device, WebGL works well for both intricate graphics and games.

Shaders. Small applications called “shaders” can be used to create complex visual effects. This might involve more intricate simulations, such water or fire, or something as basic as creating a sepia coloring effect.

Where to begin?

The basic steps to start your first WebGL project are as follows:

1. Make the “canvas” component.

2. Acquire the context for sketching

3. Set up the viewport

4. Construct buffers

5. Make matrices

6. Make shaders

7. Set up the shaders

8. Sketch primitives

Given that this could seem like a lot of effort, please check out some of the frameworks and engines that might be useful.

Frameworks and Engines

PlayCanvas

It’s an open-source engine with lots of features and an editor that lets you see your changes as you make them. Among the helpful experiences they showcase are playable advertisements that you can add to programs and brand experiences for watching high speed automobiles.

turbulence

It provides creators with a 2D and 3D engine so they may create, release, and make money off of games on their platform. This utility was created by former Electronic Arts developers and is available for free under the MIT License. The most recent version of Turbulenz Engine is available for direct download and building from the Github public repository. This covers every aspect, including physics, animations, audio, inputs, networking, and the rendering of effects and particles.

BabylonJS

A comprehensive JavaScript framework, Babylon enables the development of 3D games using HTML5, WebGL, and Web Audio. Several Microsoft employees collaborated to build the free and open-source framework. It provides a sandbox to experiment with and test your code, and it is updated almost every day.

Pixi.js

This rendering engine is dedicated. Numerous additional engines are available that include gaming, music, physics, etc., and they all function flawlessly with Pixi. It also offers several additional features, such as an asset loader, text support via bitmap (sprites) or webfont, and render auto-detect to fallback to Canvas when needed.

Structure 2

It’s a powerful, innovative HTML5 game maker made especially for two-dimensional games. Anyone can create games using it because no coding knowledge is needed.

Phaser.io

In addition, it supports TypeScript, a strongly typed variant of JavaScript, and is open source. In-depth explanations and a gallery of games created using Phaser are also included.

3.js

A cross-browser JavaScript library/API called three.js is used to generate and show animated three-dimensional computer graphics in a web browser. Among the most widely used frameworks, it comes with all the necessary components to get started, such as renderings, scenes, cameras, animations, and lighting. Although this works great for most things, it doesn’t have a physics engine, which is useful for making games. The MIT license is used to make Three.js available. It also includes a beta editor that you can experiment with. On GitHub, the source code is stored in a repository.

PhiloGL

Sencha Labs has created a WebGL framework called PhiloGL for data visualization, creative coding, and game development. Every lesson from the book Learning WebGL is now available in the PhiloGL Framework. For anyone wishing to study WebGL and/or PhiloGL, this is a wonderful place to start. The MIT License also applies to this.

Where else can you utilize WebGL?

In addition to being utilized in 3D web design and games, WebGL has also been employed for scientific reasons by certain researchers. For instance, the authors of the book “Cellular Automata” attempted to model molecules using this technology by simulating debris flow for the essay “Visualization of molecular structures using state-of-the-art techniques in WebGL.” Developers frequently create simpler examples, such simulations of the solar system.

For the third anniversary of the Curiosity rover’s arrival on Mars, NASA created the interactive web application Experience Curiosity. With the help of this Blend4Web-based application, one may manipulate the rover, its robotic arm, and its cameras, as well as replicate some of the major moments from the Mars Science Laboratory mission. At SIGGRAPH 2015, the application was introduced at the start of the WebGL segment.