

We're losing perspective on 3D CSS - fiepw
http://logicalfriday.com/2013/08/27/were-losing-perspective-on-3d-css/

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michaelwww
I think as an art project it's interesting, like building the Sistine Chapel
out of lego blocks, but every time I read about one of these demos there are
always several people in the thread who complain that it maxes out their CPU,
so it's not very practical. This problem may one day be solved, but using CSS
as a programming language would for me be a horrible prospect. That being
said, if you told me several years ago that people would be using JavaScript
on the server I would have laughed.

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melling
No one is going to solve the problem unless there's a need for it. Developers
jumping in and using CSS now creates the need. It's probably just a matter of
getting enough hardware acceleration. I sort of agree that WebGL is probably a
better solution. However, people experimenting can lead to serendipity. At the
very least, browser vendors now have other to optimize their CSS
implementations.

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michaelwww
> Developers jumping in and using CSS now creates the need.

Agreed. That's a good thing. I haven't looked into why it's so slow but I
can't think of a reason why it can't be faster.

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brbcoding
Is anyone actually using 3D shapes in CSS in practice for anything more than
novelty? If they are, I haven't seen it. It's been more of a "look what I can
do with just CSS", because it's fun to hack around with new technology.

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untog
I played around creating a flippable-card based UI for use on mobile:

[http://experimenting.alastair.is/cardswipe/](http://experimenting.alastair.is/cardswipe/)

I think it has potential. And yes, I know it doesn't feel quite right (or work
on desktop), it was the result of a few hours of work. The hardware-
accelerated nature of it means that it does feel very smooth indeed.

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methodin
Not sure I buy the "anything outside of flat objects is a hack" statement.
After all most 3d engines boil everything down to triangles...

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mimiflynn
If you are creating an app with node-webkit, you could probably find a use for
3D shapes without worrying about cross browser issues.

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bhouston
I think that creating 3D content using a WebGL-based application and then
allowing export to 3D CSS may be a better solution rather than just creating
the 3D in a CSS special purpose application. But admittedly, I'm biased
because I'm a developer behind [http://clara.io](http://clara.io)

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fiepw
You're right, 3D CSS still has a usecase though, it's just very restricted.
Clara.io looks like a pretty sweet tool btw!

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bhouston
Be sure to apply for the beta, I can let you in immdiatel....

Clara.io is built using ThreeJS as your article recommends. I'm actually the
third largest contributor to ThreeJS by commmits, so we are giving back where
it matters too.

