Three dimensional animation of Web access behavior using indirect mapping

The paper proposes and discusses a 3D animation method for helping us to comprehend the behavior of Web accesses. The proposed method uses dynamic system modeling because human beings live in a dynamic world and they have been trained to comprehend the world since their birth. The method maps the Web access data to mass and forces in a dynamic system model, then simulates the model, and renders the results as graphical objects in the 3D space. An animation tool using the proposed method has been developed. It is implemented with the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) and the Java programming language, and it works on a Web browser. The features and functions of the tool are described, and some snapshots of animations of a Web server log are presented.