Discovering the necessary WebGL browser Add-ons

Question

Discovering the necessary WebGL browser Add-ons

I have been developing a WebGL application using ThreeJs to showcase 3D models with various effects (shaders). In order to test if the user's browser can run the app, I need to retrieve a list of supported plugins.

The Query:

My main dilemma is determining the required plugins for my application. Is there a way to automatically detect them?

Further Insights:

Let me provide an example to clarify the issue:

On my MacBook Pro running Mac OSX Maverix, the application runs smoothly.
However, when testing the app on my Lenovo Laptop equipped with Windows 7 and Windows 8, it fails due to the Bokeh2 Shader.

Upon examining the list of supported WebGL extensions, I noticed that some extensions were missing on the Lenovo compared to the Mac. How can I identify the necessary extensions that, if absent, would cause the WebGL app to malfunction?

Below is a comparison of the extensions available on both the Mac and Lenovo.

Extensions on my Mac:

ANGLE_instanced_arrays

WEBKIT_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic

OES_element_index_uint

OES_standard_derivatives

OES_texture_float

OES_texture_float_linear

OES_texture_half_float

OES_texture_half_float_linear

OES_vertex_array_object

WEBKIT_WEBGL_compressed_texture_s3tc

WEBKIT_WEBGL_depth_texture

WEBGL_draw_buffers

WEBGL_lose_context

WEBGL_debug_renderer_info

Extensions on my Lenovo:

ANGLE_instanced_arrays

WEBKIT_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic

OES_element_index_uint

OES_standard_derivatives

OES_texture_float

OES_texture_half_float

OES_texture_half_float_linear

OES_vertex_array_object

WEBKIT_WEBGL_compressed_texture_s3tc

WEBGL_lose_context

WEBGL_debug_renderer_info

Notable Absences in Lenovo:

OES_texture_float_linear

WEBKIT_WEBGL_depth_texture

WEBGL_draw_buffers

javascript three.js webgl webgl-extensions

Answer 1

Answer №1

If you want to check for the presence of an extension, one way is to request it specifically:

var ext = gl.getExtension("OES_texture_float_linear");
if (!ext) {
  alert("extension does not exist");
}

When working with three.js, you can access the WebGLRenderingContext using:

var gl = renderer.getContext();

To determine if the extension is necessary for your case, consider avoiding the use of the bokeh2 shader if the extension is not supported.

Alternatively, the responsibility falls on the application or framework to specify the required extensions. Here are three approaches:

It's best if the application documentation lists the required extensions for specific features like Bokek2 needs extensions X, Y, and Z.
You can inspect the code to see which extensions are being used.
Another method is to override the getExtension function, logging the requested extensions and selectively returning null for certain ones to identify the essential ones.

The recommended approach is #2, but for #3, you can implement the following:

(function() {

  var originalGetExtensionFunction = WebGLRenderingContext.prototype.getExtension;

  // Initialize with an empty array. Add requested extensions here to determine the essentials.
  var extensionToReject = [
    "OES_texture_float",
    "OES_texture_float_linear",
  ];

  WebGLRenderingContext.prototype.getExtension = function() {
    var name = arguments[0];
    console.log("app requested extension: " + name); 
    if (extensionToReject.indexOf(name) >= 0) {
      console.log("rejected extension: " + name);
      return null;
    } 
    var ext = originalGetExtensionFunction.apply(this, arguments);
    console.log("extension " + name + " " + (ext ? "found" : "not found"));
    return ext;
  };

}());

Answer 2

If you want to check for the presence of an extension, one way is to request it specifically:

var ext = gl.getExtension("OES_texture_float_linear");
if (!ext) {
  alert("extension does not exist");
}

When working with three.js, you can access the WebGLRenderingContext using:

var gl = renderer.getContext();

To determine if the extension is necessary for your case, consider avoiding the use of the bokeh2 shader if the extension is not supported.

Alternatively, the responsibility falls on the application or framework to specify the required extensions. Here are three approaches:

It's best if the application documentation lists the required extensions for specific features like Bokek2 needs extensions X, Y, and Z.
You can inspect the code to see which extensions are being used.
Another method is to override the getExtension function, logging the requested extensions and selectively returning null for certain ones to identify the essential ones.

The recommended approach is #2, but for #3, you can implement the following:

(function() {

  var originalGetExtensionFunction = WebGLRenderingContext.prototype.getExtension;

  // Initialize with an empty array. Add requested extensions here to determine the essentials.
  var extensionToReject = [
    "OES_texture_float",
    "OES_texture_float_linear",
  ];

  WebGLRenderingContext.prototype.getExtension = function() {
    var name = arguments[0];
    console.log("app requested extension: " + name); 
    if (extensionToReject.indexOf(name) >= 0) {
      console.log("rejected extension: " + name);
      return null;
    } 
    var ext = originalGetExtensionFunction.apply(this, arguments);
    console.log("extension " + name + " " + (ext ? "found" : "not found"));
    return ext;
  };

}());

Discovering the necessary WebGL browser Add-ons

The Query:

Further Insights:

Extensions on my Mac:

Extensions on my Lenovo:

Notable Absences in Lenovo:

Answer №1

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