3D Javascript library supported by IE, Mozilla and Chrome

Question

I am looking for a 3D Javascript library which is compatible with IE, Mozilla and Chrome. Libraries using Web GL works on Mozilla and Chrome but has little support from IE. We need to add plugin to make in work in IE.

Do we have any library which would support IE Browser?

Answer 1

I don't know what kind of expectations you have, being that you are using WebGL. You haven't stated anything specific about what kind of graphical effects you expect to use, but in general it is difficult (if not impossible) to accomplish some visual feats using the 2D Canvas context that you might find to be easier in WebGL. Some plugins (such as Unity, Shockwave, Java [if your users still feel safe enough browsing the Web with it], and even Flash [to some degree]) provide this sort of flashy 3D visual quality, though they suffer in terms of operating system compatibility. They all work with IE, anyhow.

With that said, I assume you are unfamiliar with Three.js's 2D Canvas fallback mode. It's basically the same old WebGL you're used to except without the WebGL part. The trouble is, aside from the graphics not looking quite as good, Three.js has never reliably supported Internet Explorer. You could try various versions of it, as I know that Microsoft used it at one point for a simplistic space demo, or you could mess with the code of a newer release and patch various points of incompatibility (such as fancy array types), but the bottom line is that it's "designed" to support IE10 (not IE9) and it's going to be kind of hard to use.

If you want to keep your code simple and you hold IE9 very close to your heart, the HTML5 GDK is for you. It's sort of like Three.js but with a simplified syntax and more emphasis on cross-browser support (meaning no WebGL). You could use it as a fallback to support your existing 3D content on non-WebGL browsers.

Another 3D library to keep an eye on is Phoria, although unlike the other two libraries, it doesn't yet support texture-mapped objects. However, I can confirm that it supports IE9 and all of the other Canvas-compatible browsers just like the HTML5 GDK. Kev is working hard on it, so it may support texture mapping within the next few months.

Answer 2

I think you need three.js - check for canvas examples