Fractal-generating software

Software generating fractal images

3D fractal made with Fragmentarium

Fractal-generating software is any type of graphics software that generates images of fractals. There are many fractal generating programs available, both free and commercial. Mobile apps are available to play or tinker with fractals. Some programmers create fractal software for themselves because of the novelty and because of the challenge in understanding the related mathematics. The generation of fractals has led to some very large problems for pure mathematics.[1]

Fractal generating software creates mathematical beauty through visualization. Modern computers may take seconds or minutes to complete a single high resolution fractal image. Images are generated for both simulation (modeling) and random fractals for art. Fractal generation used for modeling is part of realism in computer graphics.[2] Fractal generation software can be used to mimic natural landscapes with fractal landscapes and scenery generation programs. Fractal imagery can be used to introduce irregularity to an otherwise sterile computer generated environment.[3]

Simple Koch curves display strict self-similarity

Fractals are generated in music visualization software, screensavers and wallpaper generators. This software presents the user with a more limited range of settings and features, sometimes relying a series pre-programmed variables. Because complex images can be generated from simple formula fractals are often used among the demoscene.[4] The generation of fractals such as the Mandelbrot set is time-consuming and requires many computations, so it is often used in benchmarking devices.[5]

## History

[edit]

A similar plot to the very first render by Benoit Mandelbrot Palette editor in Fractint

The generation of fractals by calculation without computer assistance was undertaken by German mathematician Georg Cantor in 1883 to create the Cantor set.[6] Throughout the following years, mathematicians have postulated the existence of numerous fractals. Some were conceived before the naming of fractals in 1975, for example, the Pythagoras tree by Dutch mathematics teacher Albert E. Bosman in 1942.

The development of the first fractal generating software originated in Benoit Mandelbrot's pursuit of a generalized function for a class of shapes known as Julia sets. In 1979, Mandelbrot discovered that one image of the complex plane could be created by iteration. He and programmers working at IBM generated the first rudimentary fractal printouts.[7] This marked the first instance of the generation of fractals by non-linear creations laws or 'escape time fractal'.[8][9] Loren Carpenter created a two-minute color film called Vol Libre for presentation at SIGGRAPH in 1980.[10] The October 1983 issue of Acorn User magazine carried a BBC BASIC listing for generating fractal shapes by Susan Stepney, now Professor of Computer Science at the University of York.[11][12] She followed this up in the March 1984 Acorn User with “Snowflakes and other fractal monsters”.[13] Fractals were rendered in computer games as early as 1984 with the creation of Rescue on Fractalus!. From the early 1980s to about 1995 hundreds of different fractal types were formulated.[14]

The generation of fractal images grew in popularity as the distribution of computers with a maths co-processor or floating-point unit in the central processing unit were adopted throughout the 1990s. At this time the rendering of high resolution VGA standard images could take many hours.[citation needed] Fractal generation algorithms display extreme parallelizability. Fractal-generating software was rewritten to make use of multi-threaded processing. Subsequently, the adoption of graphics processing units in computers has greatly increased the speed of rendering and allowed for real-time changes to parameters that were previously impossible due to render delay.[15] 3D fractal generation emerged around 2009. An early list of fractal-generating software was compiled for the book titled Fractals: The Patterns of Chaos by John Briggs published in 1992.[16] Leading writers in the field include Dietmar Saupe, Heinz-Otto Peitgen and Clifford A. Pickover.

## Methods

[edit]

Various trees rendered with an L-system

There are two major methods of two dimensional fractal generation. One is to apply an iterative process to simple equations by generative recursion.[6] Dynamical systems produce a series of values. In fractal software values for a set of points on the complex plane are calculated and then rendered as pixels. This computer-based generation of fractal objects is an endless process. In theory, images can be calculated infinitely but in practice are approximated to a certain level of detail.[17] Mandelbrot used quadratic formulas described by the French mathematician Gaston Julia.[14] The maximum fractal dimension that can be produced varies according to type and is sometimes limited according to the method implemented. There are numerous coloring methods that can be applied. One of earliest was the escape time algorithm.[14] Colour banding may appear in images depending on the method of coloring used as well as gradient color density.

Some programs generate geometric self-similar or deterministic fractals such as the Koch curve. These programs use an initiator followed by a generator that is repeated in a pattern. These simple fractals originate from a technique first proposed in 1904 by Koch.[18]

The other main method is with Iterated Function Systems consisting of a number of affine transformations.[19] In the first method each pixel in a fractal image is evaluated according to a function and then coloured, before the same process is applied to the next pixel. The former method represents the classical stochastic approach while the latter implements a linear fractal model.[3] Using recursion allowed programmers to create complex images through simple direction.[20]

Three dimensional fractals are generated in a variety of ways including by using quaternion algebra.[21] Fractals emerge from fluid dynamics modelling simulations as turbulence when contour advection is used to study chaotic mixing.[citation needed] The Buddhabrot method was introduced in 1993. Programs might use fractal heightmaps to generate terrain. Fractals have been generated on computers using the following methods: Menger sponge, Hypercomplex manifold, Brownian tree, Brownian motion, Decomposition, L-systems, Lyapunov fractals, Newton fractals, Pickover stalks and Strange attractors.

## Features

[edit]

An animation being created in Chaotica Fractal created using GIMP Simulated landscape using multiple programs

Many different features are included in fractal-generating software packages. A corresponding diversity in the images produced is therefore possible. Most feature some form of algorithm selection, an interactive image zoom, and the ability to save files in JPEG, TIFF, or PNG format, as well as the ability to save parameter files, allowing the user to easily return to previously created images for later modification or exploration. The formula, parameters, variables and coloring algorithms for fractal images can be exchanged between users of the same program. There is no universally adopted standard fractal file format.

One feature of most escape time fractal programs or algebraic-based fractals is a maximum iteration setting. Increasing the iteration count is required if the image is magnified so that fine detail is not lost. Limiting the maximum iterations is important when a device's processing power is low. Coloring options often allow colors to be randomised. Options for color density are common because some gradients output hugely variable magnitudes resulting in heavy repetitive banding or large areas of the same color. Because of the convenient ability to add post-processing effects layering and alpha compositing features found in other graphics software have been included. Both 2D and 3D rendering effects such as plasma effect and lighting may be included. Many packages also allow the user to input their own formula, to allow for greater control of the fractals, as well as a choice of color rendering, along with the use of filters and other image manipulation techniques. Some fractal software packages allow for the creation of movies from a sequence of fractal images. Others display render time and allow some form of color cycling and color palette creation tools.

External media

Images
Cover of Scientific American, August 1985
Video
Vol Libre 1980 by Loren Carpenter
Realtime escape-time fractal rendering with a GPU
Four-dimensional raytraced animation in POV-Ray

Standard graphics software (such as GIMP) contains filters or plug-ins which can be used for fractal generation. Blender contains a fractal (or random) modifier. Many stand-alone fractal-generating programs can be used in conjunction with other graphics programs (such as Photoshop) to create more complex images. POV-Ray is a ray tracing program which generates images from a text-based scene description that can generate fractals. Scripts on 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya can be used. A number of web-based interfaces for the fractal generation are freely available including Turtle Graphics Renderer.[22] Fractal Lab can generate both 2D and 3D fractals and is available over the web using WebGL.[23] JWildfire is a java-based, open-source fractal flame generator.[24] Mandelbrot Fractal is a fractal explorer written in JavaScript.[25] Fractal Grower is software written in Java for generating Lindenmayer Substitution Fractals (L-systems).[26]

## Programs

[edit]

See also: List of mathematical art software

Fractal zoom animation on a Julia set

Because of the butterfly effect, generating fractals can be difficult to master. A small change in a single variable can have an unpredictable effect. Some software presents the user with a steep learning curve and an understanding of chaos theory is advantageous. This includes the characteristics of fractal dimension, recursion and self-similarity exhibited by all fractals.

Example for an open source program: mandelbulber

There are many fractal generating programs available, both free and commercial. Notable fractal generating programs include:

* Apophysis – open source IFS software for Microsoft Windows-based systems
* Bryce – cross platform commercial software partially developed by Ken Musgrave
* Electric Sheep – open source distributed screensaver software, developed by Scott Draves.
* Fractint – MS-DOS freeware initially released in 1988 with available source code, later ported to Linux and Windows (as WinFract)
* Fyre is a cross-platform open source tool for producing images based on histograms of iterated chaotic functions
* Kalles Fraktaler – Windows based fractal zoomer
* Milkdrop – music visualization plugin distributed with Winamp
* MojoWorld Generator – a defunct landscape generator for Windows
* openPlaG – creates fractals by plotting simple functions
* Picogen \- a cross platform open source terrain generator
* Sterling – freeware software for Windows
* Terragen – a fractal terrain generator that can render animations for Windows and Mac OS X
* Ultra Fractal – proprietary fractal generator for Windows and Mac OS X
* Wolfram Mathematica – can be used specifically to create fractal images
* XaoS – cross platform open source fractal zooming program

Most of the above programs make two-dimensional fractals, with a few creating three-dimensional fractal objects, such as mandelbulbs and mandelboxes. Mandelbulber is an experimental, cross platform open-source program that generates three-dimensional fractal images.[27] Mandelbulber is adept at producing 3D animations.[28] Mandelbulb 3D is free software for creating 3D images featuring many effects found in 3D rendering environments.[29] Incendia is a 3D fractal program that uses Iterated Function Systems (IFS) for fractal generation.[30] Visions of Chaos, Boxplorer and Fragmentarium also render 3D images.

The open source GnoFract 4D is available.[31] ChaosPro is freeware fractal creation program.[32] Fraqtive is an open source cross platform fractal generator.[33] MandelX is a free program for rendering fractal images on Windows.[34] WinCIG, Chaoscope, Tierazon, Fractal Forge and Malsys also generate fractal images.

## See also

[edit]

* Visual arts portal
* Mathematics portal

* Logarithmic spiral
* Software art
* Chaos game

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Frame, Michael; Amelia Urry (2016). Fractal Worlds: Grown, Built, and Imagined. Yale University Press. p. 129\. ISBN 978-0300197877. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
2. ^ F. v., Haeseler v.; H.-O Peitgen; G. Skordev (2012). "Linear Cellular Automata, Substitutions, Hierarchical Iterated Function Systems and Attractors". In Encarnacao, Jose L.; Peitgen, Heinz-Otto; Sakas, Georgios; Englert, Gabriele (eds.). Fractal Geometry and Computer Graphics. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 3\. ISBN 9783642956782. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
3. ^ a b Nikiel¹, Slawomir S (October 1998). "True-colour images and iterated function systems". Computers & Graphics. 22 (5): 635–640\. doi:10.1016/S0097-8493(98)00072-7.
4. ^ Janus Kopfstein (14 May 2014). "This 4-kilobyte demo squeezes a universe of fractals into the size of a Word document". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
5. ^ Malyshkin, Victor (2013). Parallel Computing Technologies: 12th International Conference, PaCT 2013, St. Petersburg, Russia, September 30-October 4, 2013, Proceedings. Springer. p. 267\. ISBN 9783642399589. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
6. ^ a b Daniel Shiffman. "Chapter 8. Fractals". The Nature of Code. Retrieved 22 Jan 2024.
7. ^ Gleick, James (1987). Chaos: Making a New Science. Cardinal. pp. 222–223\. ISBN 978-0143113454.
8. ^ Tom Van Cutsem. "Session 5 - Escape-Time Fractals". Retrieved 7 March 2017.
9. ^ Röss, Dieter (2011). Learning and Teaching Mathematics using Simulations: Plus 2000 Examples from Physics. Walter de Gruyter. p. 56\. ISBN 9783110250077. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
10. ^ "Vol Libre: The First Fractal CGI Movie". History of Information. Jeremy Norman & Co. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
11. ^ "Susan Stepney Professor of Computer Science, University of York, UK". www-users.cs.york.ac.uk. University of York. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
12. ^ Stepney, Susan (October 1983). "Incredible fractals, pp 37, 39, 41 and 43". www-users.cs.york.ac.uk. AcornUser. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
13. ^ Stepney, Susan (March 1984). "Snowflakes and other monsters, pp 25, 28, 29". www-users.cs.york.ac.uk. AcornUser. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
14. ^ a b c Garcia, Francisco; Fernandez, Angel; Barrallo, Javier; Martin, Luis. "Coloring dynamical systems in the complex plane". CiteSeerX 10.1.1.393.9370.
15. ^ W.D. Mayfield; J.C. Eilan; T.J. Hu; M.C. Paulsen; B.M. Wyatt (2016). "Fractal Art Generation using GPUs". arXiv:1611.03079 [cs.GR].
16. ^ Briggs, John (1992). Fractals: The Patterns of Chaos. Simon and Schuster. p. 182. ISBN 978-0671742171.
17. ^ Chen, J-N; N M Thalmann; Z-S Tsang; D Thalmann (1994). Fundamentals of Computer Graphics. World Scientific. p. 100\. ISBN 9789814603744. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
18. ^ Russ, John C. (2013). Fractal Surfaces. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 150\. ISBN 978-1489925787. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
19. ^ Chen’, Yan Qiu; Bi, Guoan (May–June 1997). "3-D IFS fractals as real-time graphics model". Computers & Graphics. 21 (3): 367–370\. doi:10.1016/S0097-8493(97)00014-9.
20. ^ Peitgen, Heinz-Otto; Peter Richter (1986). The Beauty of Fractals. Springer-Verlag. p. 2\. ISBN 978-0883859711. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
21. ^ Leys, Jos (June 2005). "Sphere inversion fractals". Computers & Graphics. 29 (3): 463–466\. doi:10.1016/j.cag.2005.03.011.
22. ^ "Turtle Graphics Renderer". Retrieved 2 March 2017.
23. ^ "Fractal Lab". subblue.com. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
24. ^ "Welcome to the official home of the JWildfire software!". Retrieved 7 March 2017.
25. ^ Mike Williams (17 July 2016). "Mandelbrot Fractal". PCAdvisor. IDG UK. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
26. ^ "Fractal Grower". The University of New Mexico. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
27. ^ Joey Bernard (7 January 2014). "Taking Fractals off the Page". Linux Journal. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
28. ^ Mike Williams (25 November 2013). "Generate spectacular 3D fractals with Mandelbulber". BetaNews. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
29. ^ "Mandelbulb 3D (MB3D) Fractal Rendering Software". SphereLab. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
30. ^ "Incendia". Ramiro Pérez Clare Nash. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
31. ^ "Gnofract 4D". Archived from the original on 6 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
32. ^ "ChaosPro Release 4.0". Retrieved 2 March 2017.
33. ^ "Fraqtive". Retrieved 2 March 2017.
34. ^ "Free software from Falcosoft". Falcosoft. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fractal software.

The Wikibook Fractals has a page on the topic of: Fractal software

* An Introduction to Fractals by Paul Bourke, May 1991

* v
* t
* e

Fractal software

* Digital art
* Graphics software
* Fractal art

Open-source|

* Apophysis
* Blender
* Fyre
* Kalles Fraktaler
* MilkDrop
* Sterling

GNU|

* Electric Sheep
* GIMP
* openPlaG
* XaoS

Freeware|

* Fractint
* IFStile

Retail|

| Cross-platform|

* Bryce
* Maple
* Ultra Fractal
* Wolfram Mathematica

|

Windows only|

* VisSim

Scenery generator|

* MojoWorld Generator
* Picogen
* Terragen
* VistaPro

Found objects|

* Burning Ship fractal
* Jerusalem cube
* Julia set
* Mandelbox
* Mandelbrot set
* Mandelbulb

Related|

* Computer-generated imagery
* Fractal compression
* Fractal landscape
* Fractal flame
* Iterated function system
* Mathematical visualization
* Orbit trap

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Fractals

Characteristics|

* Fractal dimensions
* Assouad
* Box-counting
* Higuchi
* Correlation
* Hausdorff
* Packing
* Topological
* Recursion
* Self-similarity

Iterated function
system|

* Barnsley fern
* Cantor set
* Koch snowflake
* Menger sponge
* Sierpiński carpet
* Sierpiński triangle
* Apollonian gasket
* Fibonacci word
* Space-filling curve
* Blancmange curve
* De Rham curve
* Minkowski
* Dragon curve
* Hilbert curve
* Koch curve
* Lévy C curve
* Moore curve
* Peano curve
* Sierpiński curve
* Z-order curve
* String
* T-square
* n-flake
* Vicsek fractal
* Gosper curve
* Pythagoras tree
* Weierstrass function

Strange attractor|

* Multifractal system

L-system|

* Fractal canopy
* Space-filling curve
* H tree

Escape-time
fractals|

* Burning Ship fractal
* Julia set
* Filled
* Newton fractal
* Douady rabbit
* Lyapunov fractal
* Mandelbrot set
* Misiurewicz point
* Multibrot set
* Newton fractal
* Tricorn
* Mandelbox
* Mandelbulb

Rendering techniques|

* Buddhabrot
* Orbit trap
* Pickover stalk

Random fractals|

* Brownian motion
* Brownian tree
* Brownian motor
* Fractal landscape
* Lévy flight
* Percolation theory
* Self-avoiding walk

People|

* Michael Barnsley
* Georg Cantor
* Bill Gosper
* Felix Hausdorff
* Desmond Paul Henry
* Gaston Julia
* Niels Fabian Helge von Koch
* Paul Lévy
* Aleksandr Lyapunov
* Benoit Mandelbrot
* Hamid Naderi Yeganeh
* Lewis Fry Richardson
* Wacław Sierpiński

Other|

* Coastline paradox
* Fractal art
* List of fractals by Hausdorff dimension
* The Fractal Geometry of Nature (1982 book)
* The Beauty of Fractals (1986 book)
* Chaos: Making a New Science (1987 book)
* Kaleidoscope
* Chaos theory

* v
* t
* e

Mathematics and art

Concepts|

* Algorithm
* Catenary
* Fractal
* Golden ratio
* Hyperboloid structure
* Minimal surface
* Paraboloid
* Perspective
* Camera lucida
* Camera obscura
* Plastic ratio
* Projective geometry
* Proportion
* Architecture
* Human
* Symmetry
* Tessellation
* Wallpaper group

Forms|

* Algorithmic art
* Anamorphic art
* Architecture
* Geodesic dome
* Pyramid
* Vastu shastra
* Computer art
* Fiber arts
* 4D art
* Fractal art
* Islamic geometric patterns
* Girih
* Jali
* Muqarnas
* Zellij
* Knotting
* Celtic knot
* Croatian interlace
* Interlace
* Music
* Origami
* Mathematics
* Sculpture
* String art
* String figure
* Tiling

Artworks|

* List of works designed with the golden ratio
* Continuum
* Mathemalchemy
* Mathematica: A World of Numbers... and Beyond
* Octacube
* Pi
* Pi in the Sky

Buildings|

* Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption
* Hagia Sophia
* Kresge Auditorium
* Pantheon
* Parthenon
* Pyramid of Khufu
* Sagrada Família
* Sydney Opera House
* Taj Mahal

Artists|

| Renaissance|

* Paolo Uccello
* Piero della Francesca
* Leonardo da Vinci
* Vitruvian Man
* Albrecht Dürer
* Parmigianino
* Self-portrait in a Convex Mirror

|

19th–20th
Century|

* William Blake
* The Ancient of Days
* Newton
* Jean Metzinger
* Danseuse au café
* L'Oiseau bleu
* Giorgio de Chirico
* Man Ray
* M. C. Escher
* Circle Limit III
* Print Gallery
* Relativity
* Reptiles
* Waterfall
* René Magritte
* La condition humaine
* Salvador Dalí
* Crucifixion
* The Swallow's Tail
* Crockett Johnson

Contemporary|

* Max Bill
* Martin and Erik Demaine
* Scott Draves
* Jan Dibbets
* John Ernest
* Helaman Ferguson
* Peter Forakis
* Susan Goldstine
* Bathsheba Grossman
* George W. Hart
* Desmond Paul Henry
* Anthony Hill
* Charles Jencks
* Garden of Cosmic Speculation
* Andy Lomas
* Robert Longhurst
* Jeanette McLeod
* Hamid Naderi Yeganeh
* István Orosz
* Hinke Osinga
* Antoine Pevsner
* Tony Robbin
* Alba Rojo Cama
* Reza Sarhangi
* Oliver Sin
* Hiroshi Sugimoto
* Daina Taimiņa
* Roman Verostko
* Margaret Wertheim

Theorists|

| Ancient|

* Polykleitos
* Canon
* Vitruvius
* De architectura

|

Renaissance|

* Filippo Brunelleschi
* Leon Battista Alberti
* De pictura
* De re aedificatoria
* Piero della Francesca
* De prospectiva pingendi
* Luca Pacioli
* De divina proportione
* Leonardo da Vinci
* A Treatise on Painting
* Albrecht Dürer
* Vier Bücher von Menschlicher Proportion
* Sebastiano Serlio
* Regole generali d'architettura
* Andrea Palladio
* I quattro libri dell'architettura

Romantic|

* Samuel Colman
* Nature's Harmonic Unity
* Frederik Macody Lund
* Ad Quadratum
* Jay Hambidge
* The Greek Vase

Modern|

* Owen Jones
* The Grammar of Ornament
* Ernest Hanbury Hankin
* The Drawing of Geometric Patterns in Saracenic Art
* G. H. Hardy
* A Mathematician's Apology
* George David Birkhoff
* Aesthetic Measure
* Douglas Hofstadter
* Gödel, Escher, Bach
* Nikos Salingaros
* The 'Life' of a Carpet

Publications|

* Journal of Mathematics and the Arts
* Lumen Naturae
* Making Mathematics with Needlework
* Rhythm of Structure
* Viewpoints: Mathematical Perspective and Fractal Geometry in Art

Organizations|

* Ars Mathematica
* The Bridges Organization
* European Society for Mathematics and the Arts
* Goudreau Museum of Mathematics in Art and Science
* Institute For Figuring
* Mathemalchemy
* National Museum of Mathematics

Related|

* Droste effect
* Mathematical beauty
* Patterns in nature
* Sacred geometry

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Visualization of technical information

Fields|

* Biological data visualization
* Chemical imaging
* Crime mapping
* Data visualization
* Educational visualization
* Flow visualization
* Geovisualization
* Information visualization
* Mathematical visualization
* Medical imaging
* Molecular graphics
* Product visualization
* Scientific visualization
* Social visualization
* Software visualization
* Technical drawing
* User interface design
* Visual analytics
* Visual culture
* Volume visualization

Image
types|

* Chart
* Diagram
* Engineering drawing
* Graph of a function
* Ideogram
* Map
* Photograph
* Pictogram
* Plot
* Sankey diagram
* Schematic
* Skeletal formula
* Statistical graphics
* Table
* Technical drawings
* Technical illustration

People|

| Pre-19th century|

* Edmond Halley
* Charles-René de Fourcroy
* Joseph Priestley
* Gaspard Monge

|

19th century|

* Charles Dupin
* Adolphe Quetelet
* André-Michel Guerry
* William Playfair
* August Kekulé
* Charles Joseph Minard
* Francis Amasa Walker
* John Venn
* Oliver Byrne
* Matthew Sankey
* Charles Booth
* John Snow
* Florence Nightingale
* Karl Wilhelm Pohlke
* Toussaint Loua
* Francis Galton

Early 20th century|

* Edward Walter Maunder
* Otto Neurath
* W. E. B. Du Bois
* Henry Gantt
* Arthur Lyon Bowley
* Howard G. Funkhouser
* John B. Peddle
* Ejnar Hertzsprung
* Henry Norris Russell
* Max O. Lorenz
* Fritz Kahn
* Harry Beck
* Erwin Raisz

Mid 20th century|

* Jacques Bertin
* Rudolf Modley
* Arthur H. Robinson
* John Tukey
* Mary Eleanor Spear
* Edgar Anderson
* Howard T. Fisher

Late 20th century|

* Borden Dent
* Nigel Holmes
* William S. Cleveland
* George G. Robertson
* Bruce H. McCormick
* Catherine Plaisant
* Stuart Card
* Pat Hanrahan
* Edward Tufte
* Ben Shneiderman
* Michael Friendly
* Howard Wainer
* Clifford A. Pickover
* Lawrence J. Rosenblum
* Thomas A. DeFanti
* George Furnas
* Sheelagh Carpendale
* Cynthia Brewer
* Jock D. Mackinlay
* Alan MacEachren
* David Goodsell
* Kwan-Liu Ma
* Michael Maltz
* Leland Wilkinson
* Alfred Inselberg

Early 21st century|

* Ben Fry
* Jeffrey Heer
* Jessica Hullman
* Daniel A. Keim
* Gordon Kindlmann
* Aaron Koblin
* Christopher R. Johnson
* Manuel Lima
* David McCandless
* Mauro Martino
* John Maeda
* Miriah Meyer
* Tamara Munzner
* Ade Olufeko
* Hanspeter Pfister
* Hans Rosling
* Claudio Silva
* Moritz Stefaner
* Fernanda Viégas
* Martin Wattenberg
* Bang Wong
* Hadley Wickham

Related
topics|

* Cartography
* Chartjunk
* Color coding
* Computer graphics
* in computer science
* CPK coloring
* Graph drawing
* Graphic design
* Graphic organizer
* Imaging science
* Information art
* Information graphics
* Information science
* Misleading graph
* Neuroimaging
* Patent drawing
* Scientific modelling
* Spatial analysis
* Visual perception
* Volume cartography
* Volume rendering

* v
* t
* e

Computer science

Note: This template roughly follows the 2012 ACM Computing Classification System.

Hardware|

* Printed circuit board
* Peripheral
* Integrated circuit
* Very-large-scale integration
* System on a chip (SoC)
* Energy consumption (green computing)
* Electronic design automation
* Hardware acceleration
* Processor
* Size / Form

Computer systems organization|

* Computer architecture
* Computational complexity
* Dependability
* Embedded system
* Real-time computing

Networks|

* Network architecture
* Network protocol
* Network components
* Network scheduler
* Network performance evaluation
* Network service

Software organization|

* Interpreter
* Middleware
* Virtual machine
* Operating system
* Software quality

Software notations and tools|

* Programming paradigm
* Programming language
* Compiler
* Domain-specific language
* Modeling language
* Software framework
* Integrated development environment
* Software configuration management
* Software library
* Software repository

Software development|

* Control variable
* Software development process
* Requirements analysis
* Software design
* Software construction
* Software deployment
* Software engineering
* Software maintenance
* Programming team
* Open-source model

Theory of computation|

* Model of computation
* Stochastic
* Formal language
* Automata theory
* Computability theory
* Computational complexity theory
* Logic
* Semantics

Algorithms|

* Algorithm design
* Analysis of algorithms
* Algorithmic efficiency
* Randomized algorithm
* Computational geometry

Mathematics of computing|

* Discrete mathematics
* Probability
* Statistics
* Mathematical software
* Information theory
* Mathematical analysis
* Numerical analysis
* Theoretical computer science

Information systems|

* Database management system
* Information storage systems
* Enterprise information system
* Social information systems
* Geographic information system
* Decision support system
* Process control system
* Multimedia information system
* Data mining
* Digital library
* Computing platform
* Digital marketing
* World Wide Web
* Information retrieval

Security|

* Cryptography
* Formal methods
* Security hacker
* Security services
* Intrusion detection system
* Hardware security
* Network security
* Information security
* Application security

Human–computer interaction|

* Interaction design
* Augmented reality
* Virtual reality
* Social computing
* Ubiquitous computing
* Visualization
* Accessibility

Concurrency|

* Concurrent computing
* Parallel computing
* Distributed computing
* Multithreading
* Multiprocessing

Artificial intelligence|

* Natural language processing
* Knowledge representation and reasoning
* Computer vision
* Automated planning and scheduling
* Search methodology
* Control method
* Philosophy of artificial intelligence
* Distributed artificial intelligence

Machine learning|

* Supervised learning
* Unsupervised learning
* Reinforcement learning
* Multi-task learning
* Cross-validation

Graphics|

* Animation
* Rendering
* Photograph manipulation
* Graphics processing unit
* Image compression
* Solid modeling

Applied computing|

* Quantum computing
* E-commerce
* Enterprise software
* Computational mathematics
* Computational physics
* Computational chemistry
* Computational biology
* Computational social science
* Computational engineering
* Differentiable computing
* Computational healthcare
* Digital art
* Electronic publishing
* Cyberwarfare
* Electronic voting
* Video games
* Word processing
* Operations research
* Educational technology
* Document management

* Category
* Outline
* Glossaries

* v
* t
* e

Digital art

Tools|

| Hardware|

* Computer
* CGI
* 2D graphics
* 2.5D
* 3D graphics
* Xerox
* 3D printer

|

Software|

* Graphic art software
* Fractal-generating software
* Animation software

Forms|

* Art game
* Artificial intelligence art
* ASCII art
* Computer art scene
* Computer music
* Crypto art
* Cyberarts
* Digital illustration
* Digital imaging
* Digital painting
* Digital photography
* Digital poetry
* Digital architecture
* Electronic music
* Evolutionary art
* Fractal art
* Generative art
* Generative artificial intelligence
* Generative music
* GIF art
* Glitch art
* Immersion
* Interactive art
* Internet art
* Motion graphics
* Music visualization
* Photograph manipulation
* Pixel art
* Render art
* Software art
* Systems art
* Texture mapping
* Virtual art

Notable
artists|

* Refik Anadol
* Cory Arcangel
* Sougwen Chung
* Harold Cohen
* Char Davies
* Stephanie Dinkins
* Jake Elwes
* David Em
* Desmond Paul Henry
* Mario Klingemann
* Lynn Hershman Leeson
* Zachary Lieberman
* Margot Lovejoy
* Mauro Martino
* Eric Millikin
* Hamid Naderi Yeganeh
* Trevor Paglen
* Casey Reas
* Anna Ridler
* Ben Rubin (artist)
* Karl Sims
* Camille Utterback
* Pindar Van Arman

Notable
artworks|

* Edmond de Belamy
* Barnsley fern
* Jesus Dress Up
* Listening Post (artwork)
* Remember To Rise

Organizations,
conferences|

* Artfutura
* Artmedia
* Austin Museum of Digital Art
* Computer Arts Society
* EVA Conferences
* Los Angeles Center for Digital Art
* Lumen Prize
* onedotzero
* SIGGRAPH
* V&A Digital Futures

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