Java 3D is a scene graph-based 3D application programming interface (API) for the Java platform. It runs on top of either OpenGL or Direct3D. Since version 1.2, Java 3D has been developed under the Java Community Process.

Compared to other solutions, Java 3D is not only a wrapper around these graphics APIs, but an interface that encapsulates the graphics programming using a real, object-oriented concept.

2 Thou shalt not follow the NULL pointer, for chaos and madness await thee at its end.

Clearly the holy scriptures were mis-transcribed here, as the words should have been ``null pointer'', to minimize confusion between the concept of null pointers and the macro NULL (of which more anon). Otherwise, the meaning is plain. A null pointer points to regions filled with dragons, demons, core dumps, and numberless other foul creatures, all of which delight in frolicing in thy program if thou disturb their sleep. A null pointer doth not point to a 0 of any type, despite some blasphemous old code which impiously assumes this.

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While jEdit beats many expensive development tools for features and ease of use, it is released as free software with full source code, provided under the terms of the GNU General Public License.

• Written in Java, so it runs on Mac OS X, OS/2, Unix, VMS and Windows.
  
• Built-in macro language; extensible plugin architecture. Dozens of macros and plugins available.
  
• Plugins can be downloaded and installed from within jEdit using the "plugin manager" feature.
  
• Auto indent, and syntax highlighting for more than 130 languages.
  
• Supports a large number of character encodings including UTF8 and Unicode.
  
• Folding for selectively hiding regions of text.
  
• Word wrap.
  
• Highly configurable and customizable.
  
• Every other feature, both basic and advanced, you would expect to find in a text editor. See the Features page for a full list.

This tutorial has grown into a book called The Java Developer's Resource, available now from Prentice Hall. It's now out of print, but the examples and exercises from that book are also online here and may be of use.

I will take you through the difficult issues because that is the only way to move on to masterful programming. My goal is to take you from knowing nothing about programming to understanding how to think, write, and learn like a programmer. You won’t know everything, but you will have a background for how everything fits together. At the end of this book, you should be able to do the following: