VRML

VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) is 3D vector format for defining interactive objects and environments. It was designed to be Web-friendly, but ultimately failed to be supported by most web browsers.

For a time prior to its release, it was named Virtual Reality Markup Language.

There are two versions: VRML 1.0, and VRML97 (also known as VRML 2.0). VRML97 is specified in ISO/IEC 14772-1:1997.

The successor of VRML is X3D.

Identifiers
The filename extension for uncompressed VRML files is .wrl (derived from the word "world").

WRL files are sometimes gzip-compressed. Such files may use an extension of .wrz, .wrl.gz, or may still use .wrl.

Identification
VRML 1.0 files begin with the ASCII string " ".

VRML97 files begin with the ASCII string " ".

(Of course, if the file is gzip-compressed, it must be decompressed first.)

Specifications

 * VRML specifications

Sample files

 * VRML Samples from the Open Virtual Reality Testbed
 * http://www.ocnus.com/models/
 * Free VRML aircrafts

Links

 * Wikipedia page
 * VRML Archives from Web3D Consortium