Modeling the world-how it's blocked out on the Web

Placing bets on one technology over another is risky; however, there are some guiding lights. The Web is here to stay. It offers a way of sharing and presenting multimedia information to a worldwide set of interactive participants. Therefore, any technology tied to the Web's development is likely to change modeling and simulation. The tremendous interest in Java for doing simulation has taken a firm hold within the simulation field. Apart from being a good programming language, its future is intrinsically bound to the coding and interaction within a browser. VRML, and its X3D successor, represent the future of 3D immersing environments on the Web. Model handles and their accompanying object groups will remain invisible unless requested by those with a modeling bent. The modeling approach presented takes a substantial departure from existing approaches. That is the modeling environment and the object environment merge seamlessly into a single environment. There isn't a difference between a circle and a house, or a sphere and a teapot, Furthermore, objects can take on any role. This frees the modeler to choose whatever metaphor agreed upon by a certain community. There is no single syntax or structure for modeling. Modeling is both an art and a science; the realization that all objects can play roles takes us back to childhood. The Rube modeling environment is being built in the hope that by making all objects virtual we can return to free-form modeling of every kind.