TESTED PLATFORMS

The VNet server is written in pure Java, and the client is written in
Java, VRML and HTML and should be compliant with any VRML 2.0 browser.

The client and server have been tested and work on the following platforms:

Windows95, Netscape Communicator 4.0, CosmoPlayer 2.0
Windows95, Netscape Navigator 3.0.1, Intervista WorldView 2.0
Windows95, Internet Explorer 4.0, Intervista WorldView 2.1
Irix 6.3/6.4 (O2/Octane), Netscape Navigator 3.0.1s, CosmoPlayer 1.0.2
Irix 6.3 (O2), Liquid Reality b17
Linux 2.0.30, Liquid Reality b17

The following platform requires a workaround (see below):
Irix 6.x, Netscape Communicator 4.0.4, CosmoPlayer 1.0.2

The following platforms do *NOT* work:
Windows95/NT, CosmoPlayer 1.x (too many bugs to maintain workarounds for;
support for this VRML plugin removed as of VNet 1.1).
Windows95, Internet Explorer 4.0, IE VRML control vrml2c aka WorldView
(due to a bug in vrml2c - fixed in WorldView 2.1 for IE4)
VRWave 0.9 (too many unimplemented nodes)

INSTALLATION

NOTE:  These instructions are *only* for people who wish to set up their
       own multi-user VRML space.  If you wish to try out existing spaces,
       you need only point your VRML 2.0-compatible browser at one of
       the existing ones.  See www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~sfwhite/VNet.html

In order to install and run VNet, you must have

1)  the Java Development Kit (1.0.2 or higher), or the Java Runtime
    Environment for your machine.  See 
    http://www.javasoft.com/products/jdk/1.1/
2)  a copy of the vnet client software  (vnet-client-*.tar.gz)
3)  a copy of the vnet server software  (vnet-server-*.tar.gz)
4)  a web server up and running on your machine
5)  permission to also run the vnet server on that same machine

You do *not* need to compile the .java files; pre-compiled .class
files are provided.  The .java files are only there for people who
wish to modify the client or server (see the file COPYING for details).

1)  INSTALL THE CLIENT FILES

Install the vnet client files in a directory which is visible
to the web server.

on unix, you can do this with:

	gunzip -c vnet-client-*.tar.gz | tar xf -

on Windows95 or WindowsNT, open the files with WinZip and extract them.

2)  INSTALL THE SERVER FILES

As above, decompress the files in vnet-server-*.tar.gz.  You do *not*
need to put these files in a directory visible to the web server.

3)  START THE SERVER

In the server directory, type

	java VSystem 8888

The server will start running and you'll see some diagnostic messages
printed to that window.  For Unix, you can also use a shell script in the
server distribution called "restart".  It will kill a running instance
of the server if any, and start a new server in the background with
output redirected to /tmp/VSystem.log.

4)  THAT'S IT!

You should now be able to connect to your server by going to the
"index.html" file found in the client directory (which is visible
from your web server, right?), choosing an avatar and typing in
a username, and logging in.  If you see the message "connection refused"
or "invalid argument", then the server is either not running, or not
running on the correct port.

TROUBLESHOOTING

Q)  I see "Error opening server socket:  Address already in use" when
    trying to start the server.
A)  The server is either already running, or something else is using that
    port number.  If you must use a different port number, be sure to change
    it also in EAISimple.wrl, Simple.wrl and TextVNet.html.

Q)  When logging in on the client, I see the message "connection refused"
    or "invalid argument".
A)  The server is not running.  Start the server.

BUG REPORTING

If you think you've found a bug, please send the relevant portions of
the server log and/or the java console output to me at
sfwhite@csclub.uwaterloo.ca.  Please include *full* steps on how to
replicate the problem, including what platform, web browser, and
VRML browser you are using.  Good luck, and I hope you enjoy using
VNet.

stephen white

sfwhite@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~sfwhite/
VNet central:  http://ariadne.iz.net/~jeffs/vnet/

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Irix 6.x / Netscape Communicator 4.0.x / CosmoPlayer 1.0.2 workaround:

The error manifests itself as the following message in the java console:

    java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: vrml/external/Browser

The workaround is to view a small *non-EAI* VRML file (i use a small file
containing just a sphere) *before* loading the VNet client.
