FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

Licensing Questions

Licensing questions can be directed to lg3d_license@dev.java.net

Technical Questions

Please see the Getting started with Project Looking Glass and Project Looking Glass Developer's Guide for any technical questions.

How to Participate

Answers

General Questions

Q. Where can I get more general information on Project Looking Glass?
A. You can go to http://www.sun.com/software/project-looking-glass Sun's Project Looking Glass site for more general information. You can view demonstrations of the proof-of-concept version of Project Looking Glass.

Q. Can I get a trial version of Project Looking Glass? Can I beta test Project Looking Glass?
A. We are still in the early development process. There is no officially supported trial version available for users. However software developers can download the early development version and participate in the open source development. Please visit https://lg3d.dev.java.net/ for more details.

Q. When can I purchase Project Looking Glass?
A. Project Looking Glass is not a product and can not be purchased now. It is part of the advanced development at Sun Microsystems and an open source project. Sun is using it to influence our product plans; interest people in new technology; and gain new ideas to ultimately shape what we do in the future. Some of the results gained from this project will get integrated into future versions of the Sun Java Desktop System.

Q. Why did Sun open source Project Looking Glass?
A. Project Looking Glass is in its infancy. We need to explore lots of ideas and possibilities. We're releasing the Project Looking Glass code to the whole community to explore every aspect of the technology rather than restricting access to a privileged few. We believe this open development is an excellent model to pursue this exciting and vast opportunity. So, your involvement is eagerly anticipated.

Q. What is the difference between the proof-of-concept version and this open source developer's release?
A. The proof-of-concept was built to demonstrate our vision of 3D desktop possibilities. It showed many of the ideas Sun had for the desktop. The proof-of-concept was built as a demo only, not a productizible version.

The open source developer's release is completely rewritten with full-scale productization in mind. It leverages Java 3D for better scalability and performance, and provides key features for real life usage including client-server architecture for system robustness. We've switched our devlopment effort from the proof-of-concept version to the open source developer's release.

Q. What platforms will Project Looking Glass support?
A. At the moment, existing application integration is supported for Linux and Solaris x86 platforms. The platform for 3D application development is available for Linux, Solaris and Windows platforms.

Q. What applications will run on Project Looking Glass?
A. It works with current Linux, Solaris x86 without application modifications. It also runs with LG3D applications on Linux, Solaris and Windows platforms.

Licensing Questions

Licensing questions can be directed to lg3d_license@dev.java.net

Q. What license is this released under?
A. There are three license choices for developers interested in creating applications using Project Looking Glass.

For developers who are interested in reviewing, revising, and redistributing the source code as part of their own application, Project Looking Glass has been submitted as an Open Source project on java.net under the GNU Public License, or GPL.

For developers who are interested in developing an application on top of the existing Project Looking Glass platform without reviewing and/or altering the code base, there is a binary version of the current state of the project available for download under a traditional Binary Code License. This is also available on java.net.

Finally, for developers or organizations interested in other uses or revising the source code but wish to keep their implementation and related application proprietary, please contact Sun at lg3d_license@dev.java.net

Q. Can I make changes to the source code base and redistribute my changes?
A. Yes. If you make any changes to the original code base, you are welcome to redistribute those changes as part of your application. If you have chosen to develop under the terms of the GPL license, you must publish the source code for your entire "derivative work" -- both your changes and the application itself -- when you distribute your application. If you make changes to the original code base and prefer not to publish the source code, please contact Sun at lg3d_license@dev.java.net

Q. Can I develop an application by downloading the binary code and keep my application proprietary?
A. Yes. If you choose to develop an application based on the existing binary file for Project Looking Glass, you are not required to provide the source code for your application. However, please be aware that this binary file reflects the current state of development and may not have undergone traditional quality control testing. As the source code changes and matures, the Binary file will also change from time to time.

Technical Questions

Q. Does the LG3D API will replace Java 3D APIs?
A. No. Actually, the LG3D API leverages Java 3D API,and provides additional features including an animation system (to simplify writing user experience-rich applications) and APIs for 3D window manager development and interaction.

Q. Is a completely new 3D widget set API planned?
A. We plan to leverage well-defined rich Swing widget API as our LG3D widget API instead of developing yet another widget API. Our approach is to provide "View" implementation of Swing's MVC architecture using the LG3D API, so that Swing components are rendered in the 3D space. This will be a hot public project and we welcome your participation at https://lg3d-core.dev.java.net/.

How to Participate

Q. How can I get involved?
A. Sun believes that tapping into the creative and open community of people working on Java will drive innovation. If you are a software developer, you can join the java.net open source community extending this project. Please read the "Contributing to Project Looking Glass" document for more information.

Q. How can I start developing applications for Project Looking Glass?
A. We ask you to use your imagination about what types of applications would be better used in a 3D environment. You can see our music file manager as an example. If you want to gain experience in developing 3D applications using Java technology, you can start using the Java 3D APIs today. We invite you to develop 3D demonstration applications and host them on the java.net open source project.

Q. Is there early access availability or a Project Looking Glass API for 3D programming?
A. We have an open source project on java.net, and software developers are invited to explore possibilities of Project Looking Glass.


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