VRML (1994-2001)
Web3D Consortium

 

 

"Netscape logo" by Eyeball Productions,Ltd.
 
Virtual Reality Modeling Language is an open 3D standard and the very first created for the web. When it was initially specified in November 1994, the format could only represent static models with no interactivity. This problem was solved in 1997 when version 2.0, better known as VRML97, was published. Despite never seeing mainstream use, it would become the most popular option for internet-based 3D upon its launch before being superseded in 2001 by X3D (which was backwards compatible with VRML worlds). As it was a file format and not a plugin in itself, many different implementations have been made of VRML, often adding their own non-standard features.