Yesterday Black Sun Interactive, a developer of 3D multi-user servers and
authoring tools, announced the introduction of the CyberSockets application
programming interface (API), based on VRML and Java. The API lets software
developers add multi-user capabilities to their existing games and
applications, or to develop multi-user clients for vertical markets such as
entertainment, education and conferencing. CyberSockets can be used by any C,
C++ or Java application and offers access to all the features of CyberHub,
Black Sun Interactive's multi-user server. As the client API for CyberHub,
CyberSockets enables users to benefit from key CyberHub features such as 3D
avatar representation, real-time group or one-to-one discussion and
information exchange using personally tailored CyberCards.
Key features of CyberSockets include:
* Java access layer - enables Java applications as well as C and C++ to
incorporate emerging multi-user services
* ease of use - high-level semantics and straightforward integration model
minimize development time
* scaleability - links applications to industrial-strength CyberHub services
supporting hundreds of users
* optimization - optimized for high-performance networking
* platform independence - an abstraction layer allows an application's
multi-user features to function independently of the underlying operating
system and network
CyberSockets is currently in alpha testing with Internet and game developers,
and will be available for beta testing June 1. Interested developers should
send email to _cybersockets@blacksun.com_, or contact Black Sun Interactive at
(415) 273-7000.
--- Rohit Khare -- 617/253-5884 Technical Staff, World Wide Web Consortium NE43-354, MIT LCS, Cambridge, MA 02139