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Mobile 3D Graphics API

Java API specification for 3D graphics, extending Java ME

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMar 26, 2026
Entity authorityQ2024038 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Mobile 3D Graphics API, commonly referred to as M3G, is an open source graphics API and file format specification for developing Java ME applications that produce 3D computer graphics on embedded devices such as mobile phones and PDAs.

History

Originally developed at Nokia Research Center Tampere in 2003–2005, M3G was standardized under the Java Community Process as JSR 184 in 22 Dec, 2003. As of 2007, the latest version of M3G was 1.1, but version 2.0 was drafted as JSR 297 in April 2009. In 2010, M3G 1.1 JNI source code and related Symbian OS Java Runtime Environment were subsequently released into open source through the Symbian Foundation.

Rendering

M3G is an object-oriented interface consists of 30 classes that can be used to draw complex animated three-dimensional scenes, it provides two ways for developers to draw 3D graphics: immediate mode and retained mode.

In immediate mode, graphics commands are issued directly into the graphics pipeline and the rendering engine executes them immediately. When using this method, the developer must write code that specifically tells the rendering engine what to draw for each animation frame. A camera, and set of lights are also associated with the scene, but is not necessarily part of it. In immediate mode it is possible to display single objects, as well as entire scenes (or worlds, with a camera, lights, and background as parts of the scene).

Retained mode always uses a scene graph that links all geometric objects in the 3D world in a tree structure, and also specifies the camera, lights, and background.

Editorial summary

“Mobile 3D Graphics API” enters the record as java API specification for 3D graphics, extending Java ME. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Mobile, Graphics and Java can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2003, 2005, 2007, 2009—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Mobile, Graphics and Java.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Mobile 3D Graphics API” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Mobile, Graphics and Java provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2024038. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Mobile 3D Graphics API”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Mobile 3D Graphics API primary sources, Mobile 3D Graphics API archive and Mobile research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Mobile 3D Graphics API”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Mobile 3D Graphics API” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.