A high-performance fractal visualization application written in C that renders real-time interactive fractals using the MiniLibX graphics library. Explore infinite mathematical beauty with smooth zooming, panning, and customizable rendering parameters.
fract-ol is a graphical exploration tool for three of the most famous fractals in mathematics:
- Mandelbrot Set - The quintessential fractal defined by the iteration of z → z² + c
- Julia Set - A family of fractals parametrized by complex numbers
- Burning Ship - A variant of Mandelbrot with absolute value transformations
The application provides an intuitive interface for exploring these fractals with full interactive control over zoom levels, pan coordinates, and rendering parameters.
Add your screenshots to imgs/ using these filenames and the previews below will render automatically:
- Mandelbrot:
- Julia:
- Burning Ship:
- Three Fractal Engines: Complete implementations of Mandelbrot, Julia, and Burning Ship fractals
- Real-time Rendering: Event-driven architecture for smooth, responsive interaction
- Adaptive Zooming: Smooth zoom centered at mouse position with configurable zoom factor (1.1×)
- Pan Navigation: Arrow key controls for exploring different regions of the complex plane
- Color Palette System: 16-color palette mapping iteration depths to visual gradients
- 800×600 Resolution: Fixed viewport optimized for detailed fractal exploration
- Iteration Depth: Configurable maximum iterations (default 200) balancing quality and speed
- Direct Pixel Manipulation: Optimized pixel buffer access for fast rendering
- Hardware-Accelerated Display: Uses X11 server-side rendering via MiniLibX
- GCC: C compiler with C99 support
- X11 Development Libraries: libx11-dev, libxext-dev
- BSD Library: libbsd-dev (for compatibility functions)
- MiniLibX: Included as submodule (builds automatically)
- Linux (native or WSL2)
- Any system with X11 server support
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y gcc make libbsd-dev libx11-dev libxext-devmake # Build the executable
make clean # Remove object files
make fclean # Remove all build artifacts
make re # Clean rebuildMandelbrot Set:
./fractol mandelbrotJulia Set (requires two complex parameters):
./fractol julia <real_part> <imaginary_part>Examples:
./fractol julia -0.7 0.27015 # Classic Julia spiral
./fractol julia -0.8 0.156 # Intricate filament pattern
./fractol julia 0.285 0.01 # Seahorse valleyBurning Ship:
./fractol burning_ship| Control | Action |
|---|---|
| Mouse Scroll Up | Zoom in (1.1× magnification) |
| Mouse Scroll Down | Zoom out |
| Arrow Keys | Pan the view (translate by 0.1 units) |
| ESC / Window Close | Exit application |
Rendering Engine (render.c, render_utils.c)
- Main loop iterates through all pixels (800×600)
- Per-fractal mathematical computation (Mandelbrot, Julia, Burning Ship)
- Iteration-based color mapping with smooth gradients
- Direct write to pixel buffer for maximum speed
Event System (events.c)
- Mouse hooks for zoom operations centered at cursor position
- Keyboard hooks for ESC key and arrow navigation
- Window close event handling with proper resource cleanup
Memory Management
- Centralized allocation in
mem_alloc() - Proper cleanup and deallocation in
clean_exit() - No memory leaks in event-driven loop
Coordinate Mapping
- Screen-to-complex-plane transformation using linear interpolation
- Dynamic range mapping based on zoom and offset parameters
- Per-pixel coordinate calculation for mathematical accuracy
typedef struct s_mlx {
t_type type; // MANDELBROT, JULIA, or BURNING_SHIP
void *mlx; // MiniLibX connection
void *win; // Window pointer
t_image img; // Pixel buffer and metadata
double zoom; // Current zoom level
double offset_x; // Horizontal translation
double offset_y; // Vertical translation
int palette[16]; // Color lookup table
t_fractal fractal; // Complex number state
} t_mlx;Mandelbrot Iteration: z(n+1) = z(n)² + c where c is the pixel coordinate in the complex plane.
Julia Iteration: z(n+1) = z(n)² + c where c is a fixed complex parameter and z is the pixel coordinate.
Burning Ship Iteration: z(n+1) = (|Re(z(n))| + i|Im(z(n)|)² + c
Iteration continues until |z(n)| > 2 or maximum iterations reached. Iteration count determines final pixel color.
-Wall -Wextra -Werror
Strict compilation with all warnings enabled and treated as errors ensures code quality.
- WIDTH: 800 pixels
- HEIGHT: 600 pixels
- MAX_ITER: 200 iterations
- ZOOM_FACTOR: 1.1 (10% magnification per scroll)
- PALETTE_SIZE: 16 colors
fract-ol/
├── main.c # Application entry point, initialization
├── fractol.h # Header with structures, constants, declarations
├── events.c # Event handlers (keyboard, mouse, window)
├── render.c # Core fractal rendering loop
├── render_utils.c # Rendering helpers (color mapping, math)
├── render_utils_1.c # Additional rendering utilities
├── mlx_utils.c # MiniLibX wrapper functions
├── utils.c # General utilities (string parsing, validation)
├── utils_1.c # Additional utilities
├── Makefile # Build configuration
└── minilibx-linux/ # MiniLibX graphics library (submodule)
- Iteration Limit: 200 iterations balances visual detail with render speed
- Resolution: 800×600 provides responsive 60+ FPS rendering on modern hardware
- Zoom Range: Practical zoom limited by floating-point precision
- Real-time Responsiveness: Event-driven architecture eliminates unnecessary recomputation
The application works perfectly under WSL2 with X11 server support. Ensure your WSL distribution has X11 forwarding configured.
- Julia set parameters validated as floating-point numbers
- Fractal type checked against supported options
- Proper error messages for invalid inputs
The 16-color palette is dynamically initialized and smoothly interpolates between colors based on iteration count, creating visually appealing gradients.
modat (modat@student.42.fr)
Created as part of the 42 School curriculum.
Educational use. See LICENSE file for details.
"cannot find -lbsd"
sudo apt-get install -y libbsd-devMissing X11 libraries
sudo apt-get install -y libx11-dev libxext-devWindow doesn't render
- Verify X11 server is running
- On WSL: Ensure X11 forwarding is configured
- Check that MiniLibX compiled successfully
Fractals appear incorrect or missing
- Verify correct fractal type name (mandelbrot, julia, burning_ship)
- For Julia: check that parameters are valid floating-point numbers
- Ensure zoom level is within floating-point precision limits