[X3D-Public] laying out children worlds in a grid or along a surface

[John Carlson]

Say I wanted to lay out an unknown (add and delete) number of inline  
children 3D worlds in a 2D grid or along a double helix (imagine 3D  
worlds located along a strand of DNA), where either the number of  
columns is specified, or the number rows is specified, but the number  
of worlds is unspecified--it depends on how many the user adds and  
removes.  How would I do that in X3D or VRML or COLLADA or Croquet/ 
Cobalt or Second Life?  I'm trying to achieve something like laying  
text out along a curve in PostScript (is this patented?), but it's  
dynamic.  I recall Alan Kay demoing a document processing system where  
there was a rotating figure in the middle of the document, and the  
text naturally flowed around the moving figure.

How does one determine where children get added to a list of  
children?  The important part is the maintenance of the overall  
layout.  If I can come up with a surface  (say a double helix) and  
specify how many worlds I want across one dimension (say across the  
long axis), is there something that will do the layout for me?  I  
assume that FVRML could help define the surface.

References:

http://www.web3d.org/x3d/publiclists/x3dpublic_list_archives/0512/msg00002.html

You'd think after 3.5 years, something would be documented or put out  
to the public?  Is it the Layout part of the standard?

Yes, I know that I've asked this multiple times before.   This is just  
the latest spin on it.  I'm giving you guys good marketing ideas,  
right?  Who wouldn't go gaga over a web page presented as a double  
helix.  What are the navigation possibilities?  How about an avatar  
throwing up a baton, becoming DNA and a bunch of 3D worlds pop up  
behind the baton's path.

Just to show you I'm not totally incompetent (well, I used to be  
competent :-), I've attached what I did for a stack of cards in Java/ 
Swing.  How about a hand of cards in X3D?  This practically solves the  
case I want, but it's not X3D :-(

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: StackLayout.java
Type: application/octet-stream
Size: 3386 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://web3d.org/pipermail/x3d-public_web3d.org/attachments/20090825/f2f1ddb1/attachment.obj>
-------------- next part --------------


John