three vs babylonjs
3D Graphics Libraries Comparison
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threebabylonjs
What's 3D Graphics Libraries?

3D graphics libraries are essential tools for developers looking to create interactive and visually appealing 3D environments in web applications. These libraries provide a set of APIs and functionalities that simplify the process of rendering 3D graphics, handling animations, and managing user interactions. Babylon.js and Three.js are two of the most popular libraries in this domain, each offering unique features and capabilities that cater to different development needs and preferences.

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three1,792,355104,50827.5 MB55325 days agoMIT
babylonjs12,81323,63891.4 MB325 days agoApache-2.0
Feature Comparison: three vs babylonjs

Ease of Use

  • three:

    Three.js offers a more flexible and modular approach, which can be both an advantage and a challenge. While it allows developers to create customized solutions tailored to specific needs, it may require a deeper understanding of 3D concepts and more manual setup compared to Babylon.js.

  • babylonjs:

    Babylon.js is designed with a user-friendly API that simplifies the process of creating complex 3D scenes. It provides a rich set of tools and documentation, making it accessible for both beginners and experienced developers. The engine includes a powerful scene editor and built-in physics engine, which further enhances usability.

Performance

  • three:

    Three.js also provides good performance but may require more manual optimization techniques to achieve the best results. Developers often need to manage resources carefully and implement custom optimizations, especially in complex scenes with many objects.

  • babylonjs:

    Babylon.js is optimized for performance, leveraging WebGL and other technologies to deliver high-quality graphics with minimal overhead. It includes features like scene optimization, instancing, and efficient memory management, making it suitable for resource-intensive applications such as games.

Community and Ecosystem

  • three:

    Three.js boasts a larger community and a more extensive ecosystem due to its longer presence in the market. It has a vast array of examples, third-party plugins, and integrations with other libraries, which can be beneficial for developers looking to extend functionality.

  • babylonjs:

    Babylon.js has a strong community and a growing ecosystem of plugins and extensions. The library is actively maintained, and its community provides a wealth of tutorials, examples, and support, making it easier for developers to find resources and solutions to common challenges.

Features and Capabilities

  • three:

    Three.js provides a wide range of features as well, but many advanced functionalities require additional libraries or custom implementations. It excels in visual effects and artistic rendering, allowing developers to create stunning visuals with shaders and custom materials.

  • babylonjs:

    Babylon.js comes with a rich set of features out of the box, including support for physics, particle systems, advanced materials, and post-processing effects. It also has built-in support for 3D audio, making it a robust choice for creating immersive experiences.

Documentation and Learning Resources

  • three:

    Three.js has a wealth of documentation and examples, but the learning curve can be steeper due to its flexibility and the need for additional resources to understand complex concepts. However, the community support is robust, providing many learning materials.

  • babylonjs:

    Babylon.js offers extensive documentation, tutorials, and a playground for testing code snippets in real-time. This makes it easier for newcomers to get started and for experienced developers to find specific information quickly.

How to Choose: three vs babylonjs
  • three:

    Choose Three.js if you prefer a lightweight and flexible library that allows for rapid prototyping and customization. It is ideal for projects that require a more artistic approach to 3D rendering and where you might want to integrate various visual effects and shaders.

  • babylonjs:

    Choose Babylon.js if you require a comprehensive engine that supports advanced features like physics, animations, and a rich scene graph. It is particularly well-suited for game development and applications that need high performance and extensive built-in functionalities.

Similar Npm Packages to three

three is a popular JavaScript library used for creating and displaying 3D graphics in a web browser. It leverages WebGL to render high-performance graphics and provides a simple API to work with 3D objects, scenes, cameras, lights, and animations. With its extensive features and a large community, three.js has become a go-to choice for developers looking to create interactive 3D experiences, games, and visualizations on the web.

One notable alternative to three.js is babylonjs. Babylon.js is another powerful 3D engine that allows developers to create stunning graphics and immersive experiences in the browser. It is designed to be user-friendly and provides a comprehensive set of features, including physics, animations, and a rich material system. Babylon.js also supports WebXR, making it a strong candidate for developing virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications. If you are looking for a robust engine with advanced features and a focus on VR/AR, Babylon.js might be the right choice for your project.

To see how three.js compares with Babylon.js, check out the comparison: Comparing three vs babylonjs.

README for three

three.js

NPM Package Build Size NPM Downloads DeepScan Discord

JavaScript 3D library

The aim of the project is to create an easy-to-use, lightweight, cross-browser, general-purpose 3D library. The current builds only include WebGL and WebGPU renderers but SVG and CSS3D renderers are also available as addons.

Examples — Docs — Manual — Wiki — Migrating — Questions — Forum — Discord

Usage

This code creates a scene, a camera, and a geometric cube, and it adds the cube to the scene. It then creates a WebGL renderer for the scene and camera, and it adds that viewport to the document.body element. Finally, it animates the cube within the scene for the camera.

import * as THREE from 'three';

const width = window.innerWidth, height = window.innerHeight;

// init

const camera = new THREE.PerspectiveCamera( 70, width / height, 0.01, 10 );
camera.position.z = 1;

const scene = new THREE.Scene();

const geometry = new THREE.BoxGeometry( 0.2, 0.2, 0.2 );
const material = new THREE.MeshNormalMaterial();

const mesh = new THREE.Mesh( geometry, material );
scene.add( mesh );

const renderer = new THREE.WebGLRenderer( { antialias: true } );
renderer.setSize( width, height );
renderer.setAnimationLoop( animate );
document.body.appendChild( renderer.domElement );

// animation

function animate( time ) {

	mesh.rotation.x = time / 2000;
	mesh.rotation.y = time / 1000;

	renderer.render( scene, camera );

}

If everything goes well, you should see this.

Cloning this repository

Cloning the repo with all its history results in a ~2 GB download. If you don't need the whole history you can use the depth parameter to significantly reduce download size.

git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/mrdoob/three.js.git

Change log

Releases

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