delivrance / fractus

Elegant Fractal Explorer written in C++ (WebAssembly) and JavaScript

Fractus

Elegant Fractal Explorer web application written in C++ (WebAssembly) and JavaScript

Fractus is a WebAssembly-based web application written in C++ and JavaScript that allows you to explore the two-dimensional realm of the Mandelbrot set. Fractus is built from the ground up to be a fast, easy and pleasant to use Fractal Explorer that runs on a web browser. You can start using Fractus right away by visiting delivrance.github.io/fractus.

Features

• Written in multi-threaded C++ code compiled to WebAssembly (wasm).
• Gorgeous palette making up beautiful shades of colors as you explore.
• Move and zoom with your mouse: drag to move, wheel to zoom.
• Bookmark and share links of the exact fractal positions.
• Save images with Right Click > Save Image As...
• Reset the fractal view by hitting Backspace.

Limitations

• Fractus makes use of threads and shared array buffers, features currently available OOB only in Chromium-based browsers such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Opera. Other browsers might work if you fiddle with their configurations and enable experimental flags.
• Currently working on desktop browsers only.

ToDo

• Add support for mobile browsers and gestures.
• Add more fractals to explore (e.g.: Julia, Burning Ship).
• Find a way to keep renderings outside the main thread.
• Find a way to cancel an ongoing rendering.
• Add a progress bar as feedback for the ongoing rendering.

Build

1. Install and configure emscripten.
2. Enter the directory cd src/wasm.
3. Run emcc -O3 -s TOTAL_MEMORY=256MB -s USE_PTHREADS=1 -s PTHREAD_POOL_SIZE=16 -std=c++2a -o fractus.js fractus.cpp.

License

MIT © 2020 Dan