[x3d-public] Blender import/export…do conversion instead

[Michalis Kamburelis]

Don Brutzman <brutzman at nps.edu> napisał(a):
>
> On 5/29/2021 12:41 PM, John Carlson wrote:
> > I don’t know if the blender meeting has been accomplished yet,
>
> Next tuesday, found in Web3D Calendar

OK. I didn't get any notification about it. Can you resend me the
calendar invite?

>
> > but perhaps it’s not too late to suggest that we do conversions between .blend and .x3d in a separate tool?   Maybe we can target CGE/view3dscene first?   Would this provide for less coupling between Blender and X3D?
>
> Blender has such a huge installed base that integrating into the source is certain to have greatest possible influence and impact.
>
> Seems like that would also result in greatest long-term stability as well.
>

Using Blender Python API is the advised way to export things from
Blender, and we should follow it :)

Otherwise you need to reimplement .blend file format reading yourself,
which is a lot of work. The .blend file format was not designed to be
read by other applications, it is an internal Blender file format, and
the way it's organized (and how it evolves from Blender version to
another) is specified in Blender sources. I recall one engine that did
it (they can read .blend directly), but it doesn't really seem a
long-term solution.

If you want to implement Blender->X3D exporter, you necessarily are
"coupling" Blender with X3D. Doing this "coupling" by Python API,
supported by Blender, and not by reading .blend file directly (not
supported by Blender), is simpler (documented) and has more chance to
work in next few years :)

Regards,
Michalis