Writing Virtual Environments for Software Visualization book describes the software for a networked, 3D multi-user virtual environment that allows users to create and share remotely visualizations of program behavior. Collaborative virtual environments such as World of Warcraft or Second Life are a popular way to share interactive internet experiences, but they are complex and difficult to create. Software visualization is an area that may enable important advances in our ability to understand and reduce the costs of maintaining software. Applying the former technology to this problem area will be valuable to distributed and multi-institutional software development and educational users. The author covers the major features of collaborative virtual environments and how to program them in a very high level language. The book also examines the application of popular game-like software technologies.

Of interest to developers of virtual reality applications and others interested in potential uses for virtual reality, this book presents a selection of useful VR applications and gives readers guidance on how VR might be applied.

Few technologies in recent years have attracted as much scientific, media and public attention as Virtual Reality. By providing a profoundly new paradigm for human-computer interaction, it is fundamentally changing the way people use and think about computers. Despite being in its infancy, Virtual Reality has found applications in such varied fields as entertainment, interactive arts, medicine, architecture, security, education, and financial analysis.The articles collected here were selected after thorough review and describe the state-of-the-art in Virtual Reality software and technology. Included are the latest results in software architectures, interaction techniques and devices, modeling techniques, and applications.

Virtual environments (VE) are human-computer interfaces in which the computer creates a sensory-immersing environment that interactively responds to and is controlled by the behaviour of the user. Since these technologies will continue to become more reliable, more resolute and more affordable, it's important to consider the advantages that VEs may offer to support business processes. The term 'synthetic world' refers to a subset of VEs, having a large virtual landscape and a set of rules that govern the interactions among participants. Currently, the primary motivators for participation in these synthetic worlds appear to be fun and novelty. As the novelty wears off, synthetic worlds will need to demonstrate a favourable value proposition if they are to survive. In particular, non-game-oriented worlds will need to facilitate business processes to a degree that exceeds their substantial costs for development and maintenance. Working Through Synthetic Worlds explores a variety of different tasks that might benefit by being performed within a synthetic world. The editors use a distinctive format for the book, consisting of a set of chapters composed of three parts: ¢ a story or vignette that describes work conducted within a synthetic world based loosely on the question, 'what will work be like in the year 2025?', founded on the expert authors' expectations of plausible future technologies ¢ a scholarly review of the technologies described by the stories and the current theories related to those technologies ¢ a prescription for future research required to bridge the current state-of-the-art with the notional worlds described in the stories. The book will appeal to undergraduate and graduate students, professors, scientists and engineers, managers in high-tech industries and software developers.

The book consists of 20 chapters, each addressing a certain aspect of human-computer interaction. Each chapter gives the reader background information on a subject and proposes an original solution. This should serve as a valuable tool for professionals in this interdisciplinary field. Hopefully, readers will contribute their own discoveries and improvements, innovative ideas and concepts, as well as novel applications and business models related to the field of human-computer interaction. It is our wish that the reader consider not only what our authors have written and the experimentation they have described, but also the examples they have set.