Adding three-dimensional models to your TCL scripts with Tcl3D
PICTURE SCRIPTS
Author(s): CARSTEN ZERBST
Tcl3D brings the world of 3D effects to TCL scripting. We’ll show you how to get started with building your own 3D scripts.
Today’s PCs have the processing power to handle 3D images that once required expensive Silicon Graphics workstations. The world of 3D programming is therefore open to almost anyone. The OpenGL developers provide a substantial C API, but thanks to Paul Obermeier’s new Tcl3D extension [2], getting started with OpenGL has become even easier. Tcl3D offers access to OpenGL commands in TCL. Brian Paul developed his OpenGL widget Togl shortly after OpenGL was first released. However, Tcl developers had to use C to write any functions they needed for creating or lighting models. Tcl3D removes this need, giving scripts access to the lion’s share of the OpenGL API. Tcl3D even supports extensions such as OpenGL 2.0, the Nvidias CG Shader library, or SDL joystick support [4].
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