The Simple Virtual Environments (SVE) C library provides a framework for the development of virtual environment (VE) applications. The library provides the default components of simple VE applications (such as fly-throughs), allowing these applications to be quickly implemented, and allows applications to selectively alter, enhance, or replace components such as user interactions, animations, rendering, and input device polling. The library also allows the hardware and software configuration (devices used and placement in the workspace, location of remote servers, directories, etc.) to be given at run-time using an initialization file. Therefore, SVE provides support for rapid prototyping as well as complete implementation of simple and complex VE applications