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NOTE: This Technical Q&A has been retired. Please see the Technical Q&As page for current documentation.

Metafile Specification Discrepancies

Q: According to the 3DMF Object Spec, the FaceAttributeSet, GeometryAttributeSet, VertexAttributeSet, and ViewAttributeSet objects have been replaced with a single, context-sensitive, AttributeSet object. The Metafile 3D parser does not accept the old keywords, while Spin for Beta accepts both the old and new keywords, the 3DMF Object Spec documentation shows only the new keywords, and the text files on the CD contain only the old keywords. Which of these sources is correct?

Also, the 3DMF Object Spec indicates that the syntax of the grouping keywords has changed. For example, what was previously:


      DisplayGroup()
       ...
       EndGroup()

now should be:


	BeginGroup ( 
	    DisplayGroup ( ) 
	) 
	...
	EndGroup ( )

The Metafile 3D parser does not accept either the old or the new syntax, Spin for Beta seems to accept both, the 3DMF Object Spec consistently shows only the new method, and the text files on the CD contain only the old method. Which syntax is correct?

A: The pre-final versions of the metafile descriptors are now obsolete, and they should not be used. The metafile specifications are now final, and the final version is the only version supported. For this reason, all our example files need to be revised, and we are trying to complete this task in time for the release of the QuickDraw 3D SDK.

[Jun 01 1995]

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