WebGL

{{Short description|JavaScript bindings for OpenGL in web browsers}} {{Infobox software | name = WebGL | title = WebGL | logo = WebGL Logo.svg | logo size = x64px | logo caption = | screenshot = | caption = Screenshot from a WebGL-based application running in Google Chrome | collapsible = | author = Mozilla Foundation | developer = Khronos WebGL Working Group | released = {{Start date and age|2011|03|03}}<ref name=WebGLFinal /> | discontinued = | latest_release_version = 2.0 | latest_release_date = {{Start date and age|2017|01|17}} | latest preview version = | latest preview date = <!-- {{Start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|df=yes/no}} --> | programming language = | operating_system = | platform = Cross-platform | size = | genre = API | license = | website = {{URL|https://www.khronos.org/webgl/}} | standard = | AsOf = }} {{HTML}}

'''WebGL''' (short for '''Web Graphics Library''') is a JavaScript API for rendering interactive 2D and 3D graphics within any compatible web browser without the use of plug-ins.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=WebGL Fundamentals |url=http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/webgl/webgl_fundamentals/ |publisher=HTML5 Rocks}}</ref> WebGL is fully integrated with other web standards, allowing GPU-accelerated usage of physics, image processing, and effects in the HTML canvas. WebGL elements can be mixed with other HTML elements and composited with other parts of the page or page background.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://my.safaribooksonline.com/book/animation-and-3d/9781449326487/chapter-6dot-integrating-2d-and-3d/overlaying_3d_visuals_on_2d_pa|title=WebGL: Up and Running|last=Parisi|first=Tony|date=2012-08-15|publisher=O'Reilly Media, Incorporated|access-date=2012-07-13|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201234333/http://my.safaribooksonline.com/book/animation-and-3d/9781449326487/chapter-6dot-integrating-2d-and-3d/overlaying_3d_visuals_on_2d_pa|archive-date=2013-02-01|url-status=dead}}</ref>

WebGL programs consist of control code written in JavaScript, and shader code written in OpenGL ES Shading Language (GLSL ES, sometimes referred to as ESSL), a language similar to C or C++. WebGL code is executed on a computer's GPU.

WebGL is designed and maintained by the non-profit Khronos Group.<ref name="WebGLWebsite" /> On February 9, 2022, Khronos Group announced WebGL 2.0 support from all major browsers.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|date=2022-02-09|title=WebGL 2.0 Achieves Pervasive Support from all Major Web Browsers|url=https://www.khronos.org/blog/webgl-2-achieves-pervasive-support-from-all-major-web-browsers|access-date=2022-02-13|website=The Khronos Group|language=en}}</ref>

From 2024, a new graphics API, WebGPU, is being developed to supersede WebGL. WebGPU provides extended capabilities, a more modern interface, and direct GPU access, which is useful for demanding graphics as well as AI applications.

== Design == WebGL 1.0 is based on OpenGL ES 2.0 and provides an API for 3D graphics.<ref name=WebGLSpecification/> It uses the HTML5 canvas element and is accessed using Document Object Model (DOM) interfaces.

WebGL 2.0 is based on OpenGL ES 3.0. It guarantees the availability of many optional extensions of WebGL 1.0, and exposes new APIs.<ref name=WebGL2Specification/> Automatic memory management is provided implicitly by JavaScript.<ref name="WebGLWebsite" />

Like OpenGL ES 2.0, WebGL lacks the fixed-function APIs introduced in OpenGL 1.0 and deprecated in OpenGL 3.0. This functionality, if required, has to be implemented by the developer using shader code and JavaScript.

Shaders in WebGL are written in GLSL and passed to the WebGL API as text strings. The WebGL implementation compiles these strings to GPU code. This code is executed for each vertex sent through the API and for each pixel rasterized to the screen.

== History == WebGL evolved out of the Canvas 3D experiments started by Vladimir Vukićević at Mozilla. Vukićević first demonstrated a Canvas 3D prototype in 2006. By the end of 2007, both Mozilla<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.vlad1.com/2007/11/26/canvas-3d-gl-power-web-style/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717224855/http://blog.vlad1.com/2007/11/26/canvas-3d-gl-power-web-style/|archive-date=2011-07-17 |title=Canvas 3D: GL power, web-style |publisher=Blog.vlad1.com |access-date=2011-05-14}}</ref> and Opera<ref>{{cite web|url=http://my.opera.com/timjoh/blog/2007/11/13/taking-the-canvas-to-another-dimension |title=Taking the canvas to another dimension |publisher=My.opera.com |date=2007-11-26 |access-date=2011-05-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071117170113/http://my.opera.com/timjoh/blog/2007/11/13/taking-the-canvas-to-another-dimension|archive-date=2007-11-17}}</ref> had made their own separate implementations.

In early 2009, the non-profit technology consortium Khronos Group started the WebGL Working Group, with initial participation from Apple, Google, Mozilla, Opera, and others.<ref name=WebGLWebsite/><ref name=WebGLAnnouncement/> Version 1.0 of the WebGL specification was released March 2011.<ref name=WebGLFinal/>

An early application of WebGL was Zygote Body.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bodybrowser.googlelabs.com |title=Google Body – Google Labs |publisher=Bodybrowser.googlelabs.com |access-date=2011-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513162725/http://bodybrowser.googlelabs.com/ |archive-date=2011-05-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Bhanoo |first=Sindya N. |url=http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/23/new-from-google-the-body-browser/ |title=New From Google: The Body Browser |publisher=Well.blogs.nytimes.com |date=2010-12-23 |access-date=2011-05-14}}</ref> In November 2012 Autodesk announced that they ported most of their applications to the cloud running on local WebGL clients. These applications included Autodesk Fusion and AutoCAD.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.3dcadworld.com/autodesk-fusion-360-the-future-of-cad-part-1/ |title=AUTODESK FUSION 360: THE FUTURE OF CAD, PT. 1 |date=29 November 2012 |publisher=3dcadworld.com |access-date=2013-08-21}}</ref>

Development of the WebGL 2 specification started in 2013 and finished in January 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.khronos.org/registry/webgl/specs/latest/2.0/ |title=WebGL 2 Specification |publisher=khronos.org |date=2013-09-26 |access-date=2013-10-28}}</ref> The specification is based on OpenGL ES 3.0.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.khronos.org/registry/webgl/specs/latest/2.0/|title=WebGL 2.0 Specification}}</ref> First implementations are in Firefox 51, Chrome 56 and Opera 43.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WebGL_API|title=WebGL - Web APIs|date=28 September 2024 |publisher=MDN}}</ref>

== Implementations == === Almost Native Graphics Layer Engine === {{Main|ANGLE (software)}} Almost Native Graphics Layer Engine (ANGLE) is an open source graphic engine which implements WebGL 1.0 (2.0 which closely conforms to ES 3.0) and OpenGL ES 2.0 and 3.0 standards. It is a default backend for both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox on Windows platforms and works by translating WebGL and OpenGL calls to available platform-specific APIs. ANGLE currently provides access to OpenGL ES 2.0 and 3.0 to desktop OpenGL, OpenGL ES, Direct3D 9, and Direct3D 11 APIs.<ref name=":0:chromium"/> ″[Google] ''Chrome uses ANGLE for all graphics rendering on Windows, including the accelerated Canvas2D implementation and the Native Client sandbox environment.″''<ref name=":0:chromium">{{cite web|year=2019|access-date=June 21, 2019|url=https://chromium.googlesource.com/angle/angle/+/master/README.md|title=ANGLE - Almost Native Graphics Layer Engine}}</ref>

{{anchor|Support}}

== Software ==

WebGL is widely supported by modern browsers. However, its availability depends on other factors, too, like whether the GPU supports it. The official WebGL website offers a simple test page.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://get.webgl.org/|title=WebGL test page|work=webgl.org}}</ref> More detailed information (like what renderer the browser uses, and what extensions are available) can be found at third-party websites.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://webglreport.com/|title=WebGL Report|work=webglreport.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.browserleaks.com/webgl|title=WebGL Browser Report — WebGL Detection — WebGL Tester — BrowserLeaks|work=browserleaks.com}}</ref>

=== Desktop browsers === Source:<ref name=":0" /> * Google Chrome – WebGL 1.0 has been enabled on all platforms that have a capable graphics card with updated drivers since version 9, released in February 2011.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mah |first=Paul |url=http://www.fiercecio.com/techwatch/story/google-releases-chrome-9-comes-google-instant-webgl/2011-02-08 |title=Google releases Chrome 9; comes with Google Instant, WebGL – FierceCIO:TechWatch |publisher=FierceCIO |date=February 8, 2011 |access-date=2012-03-20 |archive-date=2011-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111025103023/http://www.fiercecio.com/techwatch/story/google-releases-chrome-9-comes-google-instant-webgl/2011-02-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://learningwebgl.com/blog/?p=3103|title=WebGL in Chrome Stable! - Learning WebGL|work=learningwebgl.com|access-date=2014-08-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528155734/http://learningwebgl.com/blog/?p=3103|archive-date=2015-05-28|url-status=dead}}</ref> By default on Windows, Chrome uses the ANGLE (Almost Native Graphics Layer Engine) renderer to translate OpenGL ES to Direct X 9.0c or 11.0, which have better driver support.<ref name="geek3d">{{cite web|url=http://www.geeks3d.com/20130611/webgl-how-to-enable-native-opengl-in-your-browser-windows/|title=(WebGL) How to Enable Native OpenGL in your Browser (Windows)|work=geeks3d.com|date=11 June 2013 }}</ref> However, on Linux and Mac OS X, the default renderer is OpenGL.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blog.chromium.org/2010/03/introducing-angle-project.html|title=Chromium Blog: Introducing the ANGLE Project|work=Chromium Blog}}</ref> It is also possible to force OpenGL as the renderer on Windows.<ref name="geek3d"/> Since September 2013, Chrome also has a newer Direct3D 11 renderer, which requires a newer graphics card.<ref name="L5956">{{cite web|url=http://learningwebgl.com/blog/?p=5956|title=WebGL around the net, 17 Oct 2013 - Learning WebGL|work=learningwebgl.com|access-date=5 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808045751/http://learningwebgl.com/blog/?p=5956|archive-date=8 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.tojicode.com/2013/09/at-last-chrome-d3d11-day-has-come.html|title=At last! Chrome D3D11 day has come!|work=tojicode.com}}</ref> Chrome 56+ supports WebGL 2.0. * Firefox – WebGL 1.0 has been enabled on all platforms that have a capable graphics card with updated drivers since version 4.0.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/4.0/releasenotes/ |title=Mozilla Firefox 4 Release Notes |publisher=Mozilla.com |date=2011-03-22 |access-date=2012-03-20}}</ref> Since 2013 Firefox also uses DirectX on the Windows platform via ANGLE.<ref name="geek3d"/> Firefox 51+ supports WebGL 2.0. * Safari – Safari 6.0 and newer versions installed on OS X Mountain Lion, Mac OS X Lion and Safari 5.1 on Mac OS X Snow Leopard implemented support for WebGL 1.0, which was disabled by default before Safari 8.0.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fairerplatform.com/2011/05/new-in-os-x-lion-safari-5-1-brings-webgl-do-not-track-and-more/ |title=New in OS X Lion: Safari 5.1 brings WebGL, Do Not Track and more |publisher=Fairerplatform.com |date=2011-05-03 |access-date=2012-03-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319172926/http://fairerplatform.com/2011/05/new-in-os-x-lion-safari-5-1-brings-webgl-do-not-track-and-more/ |archive-date=2012-03-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ikriz.nl/2011/08/23/enable-webgl-in-safari |title=Enable WebGL in Safari |publisher=Ikriz.nl |date=2011-08-23 |access-date=2012-03-20 |archive-date=2012-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304215012/http://www.ikriz.nl/2011/08/23/enable-webgl-in-safari |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.khronos.org/webgl/wiki/Getting_a_WebGL_Implementation |title=Getting a WebGL Implementation |publisher=Khronos.org |date=2012-01-13 |access-date=2012-03-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.khronos.org/webgl/wiki/Implementations/WebKit |title=Implementations/WebKit |publisher=Khronos.org |date=2011-09-03 |access-date=2012-03-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.webkit.org/blog/603/webgl-now-available-in-webkit-nightlies/ |title=WebGL Now Available in WebKit Nightlies |publisher=Webkit.org |access-date=2012-03-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308195003/http://www.webkit.org/blog/603/webgl-now-available-in-webkit-nightlies/ |archive-date=2012-03-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Safari version 12 (available in MacOS Mojave) has available support for WebGL 2.0 as an "Experimental" feature. Safari 15 enables WebGL 2.0 for all users.<ref>{{Cite web |last=modeless |date=2021-09-24 |title=Safari 15 is released. WebGL 2 is now supported in every major browser and platform! |url=http://www.reddit.com/r/webgl/comments/puplza/safari_15_is_released_webgl_2_is_now_supported_in/ |access-date=2023-10-18 |website=r/webgl}}</ref> * Opera – WebGL 1.0 has been implemented in Opera 11 and 12, but was disabled by default in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://my.opera.com/core/blog/2011/02/28/webgl-and-hardware-acceleration-2 |title=WebGL and Hardware Acceleration |publisher=My.opera.com |date=2011-02-28 |access-date=2012-03-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303150523/http://my.opera.com/core/blog/2011/02/28/webgl-and-hardware-acceleration-2|archive-date=2011-03-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://my.opera.com/desktopteam/blog/2011/10/13/introducing-opera-12-alpha |title=Introducing Opera 12 alpha |publisher=My.opera.com |date=2011-10-13 |access-date=2012-03-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015055222/http://my.opera.com/desktopteam/blog/2011/10/13/introducing-opera-12-alpha|archive-date=2011-10-15}}</ref> Opera 43+ supports WebGL 2.0. * Internet Explorer – WebGL 1.0 is partially supported in Internet Explorer 11.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ie/bg182648%28v=vs.85%29|title=WebGL (Windows)|publisher=Microsoft|work=microsoft.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/ie/bg182636.aspx|title=Internet Explorer 11 Preview guide for developers|publisher=Microsoft|date=2013-07-17|access-date=2013-07-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/ie/bg182648.aspx|title=WebGL|publisher=Microsoft|date=2013-07-17|access-date=2013-07-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/2013/06/26/internet-explorer-11-to-support-webgl-and-mpeg-dash/ |title=Internet Explorer 11 to support WebGL and MPEG Dash |publisher=Engadget |date=2013-06-26 |access-date=2013-06-26}}</ref> Internet Explorer initially failed most of the official WebGL conformance tests, but Microsoft later released several updates. The latest 0.94 WebGL engine currently passes ≈97% of Khronos tests.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://connect.microsoft.com/IE/feedback/details/795172|title=IE11 fails more than half tests in official WebGL conformance test suite|publisher=Microsoft Connect}}</ref> WebGL support can also be manually added to earlier versions of Internet Explorer using third-party plugins such as IEWebGL.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://github.com/iewebgl/iewebgl |title=IEWebGL|publisher=Iewebgl |access-date=2014-08-14}}</ref> * Microsoft Edge – For Microsoft Edge Legacy, the initial stable release supports WebGL version 0.95 (context name: "experimental-webgl") with an open source GLSL to HLSL transpiler.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://github.com/microsoftedge/webgl|title=GitHub - Microsoft Edge WebGL Implementation |publisher=Microsoft |date=2016-06-04 |access-date=2016-06-10}}</ref> Version 10240+ supports WebGL 1.0 as prefixed. Latest Chromium-based Edge supports WebGL 2.0.

=== Mobile browsers === * Google Chrome – WebGL 1.0 is supported on Android as of Chrome 25.<ref>{{cite web |title=WebGL: 2D and 3D graphics for the web - Web APIs - MDN |url=https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WebGL_API#browser_compatibility |access-date=2023-06-28}}</ref> WebGL 2.0 is supported on Android as of Chrome 58.<ref name="WebGL 2.0 - Can I use">{{cite web |title=WebGL 2.0 - Can I use... |url=https://caniuse.com/webgl2 |access-date=2023-06-28}}</ref> Chrome is used for the Android system webview as of Android 5.<ref name="Chrome for Android and Webview">{{cite web |title=Chrome for Android and Webview |url=https://developer.chrome.com/docs/webview#chrome_for_android_and_webview |access-date=2025-06-09}}</ref> * Firefox for mobile – WebGL 1.0 is available for Android devices since Firefox 4.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ichemlabs.com/1375 |title=WebGL on Mobile Devices |publisher=iChemLabs |date=2011-11-12 |access-date=2011-11-25 |archive-date=2013-01-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127155009/http://www.ichemlabs.com/1375 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="mobilehtml5.org">{{cite web|url=http://mobilehtml5.org/|title=Mobile HTML5 compatibility on iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Firefox OS and other mobile devices|access-date=2015-09-16}}</ref> * Safari on iOS – WebGL 1.0 is available for mobile Safari in iOS 8.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cunningham |first=Andrew |date=2014-09-17 |title=iOS 8, Thoroughly Reviewed |url=https://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/09/ios-8-thoroughly-reviewed/7/ |access-date=2014-09-19 |publisher=Ars Technica}}</ref> WebGL 2.0 is available for mobile Safari in iOS 15.<ref name="WebGL 2.0 - Can I use"/> * Microsoft Edge – Prefixed WebGL 1.0 was available on Windows 10 Mobile.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/platform/documentation/dev-guide/graphics/WebGL/ |title=Dev guide: WebGL – Microsoft Edge Development |access-date=2016-06-10 |publisher=Microsoft |archive-date=2016-10-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008173130/https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/platform/documentation/dev-guide/graphics/WebGL/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>. Latest Chromium-based Edge supports WebGL 2.0. * Opera Mobile – Opera Mobile 12 supports WebGL 1.0 (on Android only).<ref>{{cite web|title=Opera Mobile 12|url=http://my.opera.com/mobile/blog/2012/02/27/opera-mobile-12|publisher=Opera Software|access-date=27 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301005014/http://my.opera.com/mobile/blog/2012/02/27/opera-mobile-12|archive-date=1 March 2012}}</ref> * Sailfish OS – WebGL 1.0 is supported in the default Sailfish browser.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://html5test.com/compare/browser/sailfish.html|title=HTML5test – How well does your browser support HTML5?|access-date=2015-09-16}}</ref> * Tizen – WebGL 1.0 is supported<ref>{{cite web|url=https://html5test.com/compare/browser/tizen-2.3.html|title=HTML5test – How well does your browser support HTML5?|access-date=2015-09-16}}</ref>

== Tools and ecosystem == === Utilities === The low-level nature of the WebGL API, which provides little on its own to quickly create desirable 3D graphics, motivated the creation of higher-level libraries that abstract common operations (e.g. loading scene graphs and 3D objects in certain formats; applying linear transformations to shaders or view frustums). Some such libraries were ported to JavaScript from other languages. Examples of libraries that provide high-level features include A-Frame (VR), BabylonJS, PlayCanvas, three.js, OSG.JS, Google’s model-viewer and CopperLicht. Web3D also made a project called X3DOM to make X3D and VRML content run on WebGL.

=== Games === There has been an emergence of 2D and 3D game engines for WebGL,<ref name="Parisi2014">{{cite book |last=Parisi |first=Tony |title=Programming 3D Applications with HTML5 and WebGL: 3D Animation and Visualization for Web Pages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UvrYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA364-366 |date=13 February 2014 |publisher=O'Reilly Media, Inc. |isbn=978-1-4493-6395-6 |pages=364–366}}</ref> such as Unreal Engine 4 and Unity.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.anandtech.com/show/8354/tegra-k1-lands-in-acers-newest-chromebook |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811235419/http://anandtech.com/show/8354/tegra-k1-lands-in-acers-newest-chromebook |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 11, 2014 |title=Tegra K1 Lands in Acer's Newest Chromebook |last=Barrett |first=Stephen |work=anandtech.com}}</ref> The Stage3D/Flash-based Away3D high-level library also has a port to WebGL via TypeScript.<ref name="L5956"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://away3d.com/comments/away3d_typescript_4.1_alpha |title=Blog > Away3D Typescript 4.1 Alpha > Away3D |work=away3d.com |access-date=2014-08-05 |archive-date=2014-08-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808063141/http://away3d.com/comments/away3d_typescript_4.1_alpha |url-status=dead}}</ref> A more light-weight utility library that provides just the vector and matrix math utilities for shaders is sylvester.js.<ref name="BoreskovShikin2013">{{cite book |last1=Boreskov |first1=Alexey |last2=Shikin |first2=Evgeniy |title=Computer Graphics: From Pixels to Programmable Graphics Hardware |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VUPBAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA370 |year=2014 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-4398-6730-3 |page=370}}</ref><ref name="Anyuru2012">{{cite book |last=Anyuru |first=Andreas |title=Professional WebGL Programming: Developing 3D Graphics for the Web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F75bsvlmqQsC&pg=PA140 |year=2012 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-94059-3 |page=140}}</ref> It is sometimes used in conjunction with a WebGL specific extension called glUtils.js.<ref name="BoreskovShikin2013"/><ref name="FultonFulton2013">{{cite book |last1=Fulton |first1=Steve |last2=Fulton |first2=Jeff |title=HTML5 Canvas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zLUyKvtdCQwC&pg=PA624 |year=2013 |publisher=O'Reilly Media, Inc. |isbn=978-1-4493-3588-5 |page=624 |edition=2nd}}</ref>

There are also some 2D libraries built atop WebGL, like Cocos2d-x or Pixi.js, which were implemented this way for performance reasons in a move that parallels what happened with the Starling Framework over Stage3D in the Flash world. The WebGL-based 2D libraries fall back to HTML5 canvas when WebGL is not available.<ref name="pot">{{cite web|url=http://typedarray.org/the-webgl-potential/|title=The WebGL potential - TypedArray.org|work=typedarray.org}}</ref> Removing the rendering bottleneck by giving almost direct access to the GPU has exposed performance limitations in the JavaScript implementations. Some were addressed by asm.js and WebAssembly (similarly, the introduction of Stage3D exposed performance problems within ActionScript, which were addressed by projects like CrossBridge).<ref name="pot" />

=== Content creation === As with any other graphics API, creating content for WebGL scenes requires using a 3D content creation tool and exporting the scene to a format that is readable by the viewer or helper library. Desktop 3D authoring software such as Blender, Autodesk Maya or SimLab Composer can be used for this purpose. In particular, Blend4Web allows a WebGL scene to be authored entirely in Blender and exported to a browser with a single click, even as a standalone web page.<ref name="blend4web_about">{{cite web|url=https://www.blend4web.com/en/about/ | title=Blend4Web Official Site - About |publisher=Blend4Web.com |access-date=2015-06-22}}</ref> There are also some WebGL-specific software such as CopperCube and the online WebGL-based editor Clara.io. Online platforms such as Sketchfab and Clara.io allow users to directly upload their 3D models and display them using a hosted WebGL viewer.

=== Environment-based tools === Starting from Firefox Version 27, Mozilla has given Firefox built-in WebGL tools that allow the editing of vertices and fragment shaders.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hacks.mozilla.org/2013/11/live-editing-webgl-shaders-with-firefox-developer-tools/|title=Live editing WebGL shaders with Firefox Developer Tools|work=Mozilla Hacks – the Web developer blog}}</ref> A number of other debugging and profiling tools have also emerged.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.realtimerendering.com/blog/webgl-debugging-and-profiling-tools/|title=Real-Time Rendering · WebGL Debugging and Profiling Tools|work=realtimerendering.com|date=19 November 2013 }}</ref>

== See also == * List of WebGL frameworks * Experience Curiosity – WebGL simulation of the Mars rover ''Curiosity'' * glTF – originally known as WebGL Transmissions Format or WebGL TF * WebXR * Java OpenGL – OpenGL library for the Java programming language * WebGPU

== References == {{Reflist|30em|refs= <ref name=WebGLWebsite>{{cite web|url=http://www.khronos.org/webgl/ |title=WebGL – OpenGL ES 2.0 for the Web |publisher=Khronos.org |access-date=2011-05-14}}</ref> <ref name=WebGLSpecification>{{cite web|url=http://www.khronos.org/registry/webgl/specs/latest/ |title=WebGL Specification |publisher=Khronos.org |access-date=2011-05-14}}</ref> <ref name=WebGL2Specification>{{cite web|url=https://www.khronos.org/registry/webgl/specs/latest/2.0/ |title=WebGL 2.0 Specification |publisher=Khronos.org |access-date=2017-02-27}}</ref> <ref name=WebGLFinal>{{cite web|title=Khronos Releases Final WebGL 1.0 Specification|date=3 March 2011|url=http://www.khronos.org/news/press/khronos-releases-final-webgl-1.0-specification|access-date=2015-05-18}}</ref> <ref name=WebGLAnnouncement>{{cite web |url=http://www.khronos.org/news/press/releases/khronos-webgl-initiative-hardware-accelerated-3d-graphics-internet |title=Khronos Details WebGL Initiative to Bring Hardware-Accelerated 3D Graphics to the Internet |publisher=Khronos.org |date=2009-08-04 |access-date=2011-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419072738/http://www.khronos.org/news/press/releases/khronos-webgl-initiative-hardware-accelerated-3d-graphics-internet |archive-date=2012-04-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> }}

== External links == * {{Official website}} * [https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WebGL_API WebGL] at the Mozilla Developer Network

{{Web browsers|fsp}} {{Web interfaces}} {{Khronos Group standards}} {{Authority control}}

Category:WebGL Category:3D graphics APIs Category:Cross-platform software Category:Graphics libraries Category:Graphics standards Web Category:Web development Category:Virtual reality Category:Augmented reality