[x3d-public] X3D working group meeting minutes, 28 SEP 2018

Fri Sep 28 09:52:22 PDT 2018

We had our regular meeting 0800-0830 pacific today for work planning.

Attendees: Anita Havele, Michalis Kamburelis, Vince Marchetti, Dick Puk, Don Brutzman.

Teleconference is each Friday, 0800-0930 pacific time.  Members and invited guests welcome.

       Web3D Teleconference Information
       http://www.web3d.org/member/teleconference-information

1. Meeting minutes for 21 SEP accepted with discussion and without comment:

	X3D meeting minutes, 14, 21 SEP 2018:
	http://web3d.org/pipermail/x3d-public_web3d.org/2018-September/009417.html

=================

2.  X3D JavaScript specification github review

Dick and I continue applying editors changes to the specification prose.  A lot of work is needed for table-structure realignment for consistency with the parent SAI specification.  Apparently this is due to the X3D Javascript spec being organized according original v3.0 X3D SAI.

	X3D, ISO-IEC 19777-1 V3.3 DIS Prep
	https://github.com/Web3DConsortium/X3D/tree/master/ISO-IEC%2019777/ISO-IEC%2019777-1/ISO-IEC%2019777-1%20V3.3/ISO-IEC%2019777-1%20V3.3%20DIS%20Prep

Meeting each Tuesday should get us done in about a week.

Michalis indicated that JavaScript support was indeed possible for Castle Game Engine, which uses Object Pascal.

	Castle Game Engine
	https://castle-engine.io
	https://castle-engine.io/wp
	https://castle-engine.io/planned_features.php

=================

3. Big announcement on revisions to diagram and harmonization of all versions 3.0-3.3 and 4.0 of the X3D XML Schema, DTD and X3DUOM.

Revisions to diagram are complete.  We discussed box in bottom-right corner, meant to indicate code libraries for X3D SAI that enable programmers and software tools to easily implement X3D in a well-defined way.  After some discussion (and shoehorning efforts) we settled on "SAI libraries".

	X3D Graphics Standards Specification Relationships
	https://www.web3d.org/specifications/X3dSpecificationRelationships.png

Improvements over the past months include regexes, strict containerField validation, and watchList children.

I will announce separately when X3D-Edit and X3D Validator include these improvements.

=================

4. Two new potential additions to X3DUOM and X3D regexes have emerged in recent discussion.

a.  Addition of initialX3dVersion (3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 4.0) information to all nodes and select fields in X3D Schema annotations and X3DUOM information, in accordance with
	X3D Specification, version content
	http://www.web3d.org/documents/specifications/19775-1/V3.3/Part01/versionContent.html

      with discussion at
	[x3d-public] [x3d] X3DUOM and validation of dangling references?
	http://web3d.org/pipermail/x3d-public_web3d.org/2018-September/009461.html

b. Possible experimentation in X3D 4.0 of a new datatype SFUrl/MFUrl (or SFUri/MFUri).  Currently any url is simply treated as an MFString.

Motivations include
- stricter validation of url values for quality assurance
- potential for improved interoperability/reliability when exhanging urls inside an HTML 5 page
- regex validation providing much tighter security against url attacks (SQL injection etc. etc.)
- will need to deconflict our overloading of javascript: source in same field (probably a good thing)

Michalis notes that X3D Specification includes X3DUrlObject, perhaps a full-fledged datatype can be avoided while regex support backs up the functional requirements.

	9.2.1 URLs
	http://www.web3d.org/documents/specifications/19775-1/V3.3/Part01/components/networking.html#URLs

	9.2.2 Relative URLs
	http://www.web3d.org/documents/specifications/19775-1/V3.3/Part01/components/networking.html#RelativeURLs

	9.2.3 Scripting language protocols
	http://www.web3d.org/documents/specifications/19775-1/V3.3/Part01/components/networking.html#ScriptingLanguageProtocols

	9.3.2 X3DUrlObject
	http://www.web3d.org/documents/specifications/19775-1/V3.3/Part01/components/networking.html#X3DUrlObject

We noted that the prose in Programmable Shaders component for inclusion of Shader source only gets described under individual nodes and not in Concepts.  Probably more is needed.

	31.3.1 X3DProgrammableShaderObject
	http://www.web3d.org/documents/specifications/19775-1/V3.3/Part01/components/shaders.html#X3DProgrammableShaderObject

Would anyone care to write a specification comment on this?

	X3D Resources: Feedback
	http://www.web3d.org/x3d/content/examples/X3dResources.html#Feedback

=================

5.  Web3D status of all specifications

On 9/14/2018 8:17 AM, Nicholas Polys wrote:
> here is the timeline
> 
> https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Hy6b0kK-th0OEcyxy1taoXqv4liP7YHXjik3Jzhu9rI
> 
> we should fill in each of our spec projects along the horizontal showing its progress

Further progress continues on this status chart by Anita and Nicholas.  Encouraging!  We added additional information and structural improvements continue.

This is intended to reflect our Web3D - ISO specification processes.  Several months were dedicated early in the year to process review.

	http://www.web3d.org/standards

	http://www.web3d.org/strategy

	Standards Adoption Process
	http://www.web3d.org/standards/adoption-process

We discussed how the following refactoring might help readability and to maintain status: swap columns and rows, adjust until printable on one page for proper review/updates.

=================

4. HAnim examples, conversions and version 2 support

Joe Williams and I plan to resume weekly meetings, Monday afternoons 1500-1630 pacific.  Lots of updates to examples, implementing table values, etc. is needed to continue encouraging development and implementation of HAnim 2.0 architecture (skeleton skin) and motion animation.

	HAnim Specifications
	http://www.web3d.org/standards/h-anim

=================

5. X3D Python binding and PyJNIus mapping of X3DJSAIL.

John Carlson and Don Brutzman are working with the PyJNIus mappings for X3DJSAIL Java library.  This work will continue on the x3d-public mailing list.  We will follow the work pattern that served us so successfully in the X3D JSON Encoding development efforts.

We are meeting Wednesday afternoons.  This week we tested and cleaned up some long-standing Java-Ant-Nashorn-Javascript-X3DJSONLD integration issues.

=================

6. Mantis issue prioritization

We plan to resume triage and reviewing 1-2 issues per week, but ran out of time today.

	Mantis issue tracking by working-group members keeps track of details, alternatives and resolution for each specification issue.
	(Secondary login required for Web3D members.) Administration details are available on the Mantis documentation.
	http://www.web3d.org/member-only/mantis/my_view_page.php

=================

7. X3D v4 issues list

	X3D version 4
	http://www.web3d.org/x3d4

	X3D Version 4.0 Development
	http://www.web3d.org/wiki/index.php/X3D_version_4.0_Development

=================

8. Anything else?

a. Don will keep following up on a few lingering issues from past meetings.  Will be missing next Thursday-Friday.

b. Next week: Michalis would like to review Khronos Texture Format (KTF) together, with an eye towards possibly including it as a recommended format in X3D v4.0.

	OpenGL ES Software Development Kit: KTX File Format and Tools
	https://www.khronos.org/opengles/sdk/tools/KTX

	Khronos, KTX File Format Specification, 6th August 2018
	Editors: Mark Callow (ArtSpark/HI Corp), Georg Kolling (Imagination Technologies), and Jacob Ström (Ericsson AB)
	https://www.khronos.org/opengles/sdk/tools/KTX/file_format_spec/
	"/Abstract/. KTX is a format for storing textures for OpenGL® and OpenGL® ES applications.
	It is distinguished by the simplicity of the loader required to instantiate a GL texture object from the file contents."
https://www.khronos.org/opengles/sdk/tools/KTX/file_format_spec/

Castle-engine viewer to handle KTX:
	https://castle-engine.io/glviewimage.php

Of note is that X3D authors can test out KTF today in url arrays by putting those first, then falling back to an alternate format if needed.

c. Michalis would like to again review single/double quote handling in XML encoding.

	Quotes and double quotes in X3D
	https://github.com/michaliskambi/x3d-tests/wiki/Clarify-the-usage-of-quotes-and-backslashes-for-MFString-and-SFString-in-XML-encoding

=================

Productive meeting, we continue each week.  Have fun with X3D!  8)

all the best, Don
-- 
Don Brutzman  Naval Postgraduate School, Code USW/Br       brutzman at nps.edu
Watkins 270,  MOVES Institute, Monterey CA 93943-5000 USA   +1.831.656.2149
X3D graphics, virtual worlds, navy robotics http://faculty.nps.edu/brutzman