PCjs Machines
Home of the original IBM PC emulator for browsers.
PC-SIG Diskette Library (Disk #841)
[PCjs Machine "ibm5170"]
Waiting for machine "ibm5170" to load....
Information about “MANDELBROT MAGIC”
Fractal geometry has been used in the past to create images of many
different subjects. From three-dimensional pictures of landscapes to
an accurate cross section of the heart, fractals are the wave of the
future.
MANDELBROT MAGIC generates color displays of the Mandelbrot Set, a
famous group of mathematical structures also known as fractals.
Fractal geometry is a complicated field in mathematics, but this
program is easy to use and will automatically create the fractal slides
according to your specifications.
With this program you can create a new slide, or recreate a slide from
an already existing one. A set of fractal slides will display a portion
of the former slide in greater detail. Generating a slide is an
intensive computational task and can easily take from three to 16 hours,
but an 8087 math coprocessor will reduce the generation time by a factor
of 10.
FILE0841.TXT
Disk No: 841
Program Title: MANDELBROT MAGIC version 3.1
PC-SIG version: 2.1
MANDELBROT MAGIC generates color displays of the Mandelbrot Set; a
famous group of mathematical structures known as fractals. Fractal
geometry is a complicated field in mathematics, but this program is
easy-to-use and will automatically create the fractal slides according
to your specifications. With this program, you can create a new slide,
or create a slide from an existing one. A set of fractal slides will
display a portion of the former slide in greater detail. One of the
unique things about fractals is that they reveal more and more detail
the closer you get, and the small-scale details are similar to the
large-scale details. Generating a slide is an intensive computational
task and can take from 3 to 16 hours, but an 8087 math co-processor will
reduce the generation time by a factor of 3 to 5. A 15-minute
demonstration program is included on this disk.
Usage: Graphics.
Special Requirements: CGA, EGA, or VGA graphics.
How to Start: Type GO (press enter).
Suggested Registration: $15.00
File Descriptions:
?????? PIC Sample slides (13 files).
CHANGES !!! Update information.
MM DOC Documentation.
MM EXE Main program.
PRINTDOC BAT Batch file to print documentation.
PC-SIG
1030D E Duane Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
(408) 730-9291
(c) Copyright 1987,89 PC-SIG, Inc.
GO.TXT
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ <<<< Disk #841 MANDELBROT MAGIC >>>> ║
╠═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ To copy the documentation to your printer type: ║
║ COPY MM.DOC PRN (press enter) ║
║ ║
║ Start the program by typing: MM (press enter) ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
MM.DOC
MANDELBROT MAGIC
Version 3.1
USER'S MANUAL
Left Coast Software
P.O. Box 160601
Cupertino, CA 95016-0601
(408) 996-3130
June 1, 1989
Copyright 1989 Left Coast Software.
All rights reserved.
SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT
Mandelbrot Magic is distributed as a shareware program. It is NOT a
public domain program! However, we encourage you to copy the program
for trial purposes. The program and all associated files can be
freely copied and shared to allow others to try Mandelbrot Magic.
You may upload this program and all associated files to any bulletin
board system (BBS) or on-line computer service. You may not charge
more than $10 to distribute Mandelbrot Magic in any form.
If you try Mandelbrot Magic and decide to use it, you must register
your copy. If you do not register your copy, you are not authorized
to use the program beyond an initial evaluation period of thirty (30)
days.
By registering, Left Coast Software grants you a license to use the
copyrighted computer program Mandelbrot Magic on a single computer,
subject to the terms and conditions of this license. You agree not
to (a) modify, disassemble, or decompile the program or (b) use this
program on more than one terminal of a network, on a multi-user
computer, on a time-sharing system, on a service bureau, or on any
other system on which the program could be used (other than for trial
purposes) by more than one person at a time.
The registration fee for Mandelbrot Magic is $15. When you register,
you will receive the most recent version of the program and will be
placed on our mailing list to receive information on future upgrades
to the program. In addition, you'll receive a copy of BackMAGIC, a
memory resident program which generates fractal slides in the
background while you work with other programs. BackMAGIC IS NOT A
SHAREWARE PROGRAM! The only way you can obtain a legal copy of
BackMAGIC is to register as a user of Mandelbrot Magic. To register
for Mandelbrot Magic, send your checks to:
LEFT COAST SOFTWARE
P.O. BOX 160601
CUPERTINO, CA 95016-0601
(408) 996-3130
Users located outside the U.S. please send international money orders
denominated in U.S. dollars. You may also register or order by
phone. We accept VISA and MasterCard. A registration/order form is
included at the end of this manual.
THE PROGRAM ON THIS DISKETTE IS PROVIDED "AS IS". LEFT COAST
SOFTWARE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO
THE PROGRAM OR ITS PERFORMANCE OR QUALITY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED
TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT WILL LEFT COAST SOFTWARE BE LIABLE FOR ANY
DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOST PROFITS OR LOST DATA,
RESULTING FROM THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM.
A WORD TO VERSION 2.0 USERS
Although the name is the same as Mandelbrot Magic Version 2.0 and the
program looks familiar, Mandelbrot Version 3.1 is essentially a
completely new program. It has been completely rewritten to provide
a host of new features and much greater performance. Our goal was to
create the best program for creating, displaying and manipulating
slides of the Mandelbrot and Julia Sets on an IBM PC. We think we
have succeeded.
Rather than list all of the changes, we suggest that you read the
Version 3.1 manual in its entirety. It's not that long and this is
the best way to understand all of the changes and new features.
Unfortunately, the vast number of changes incorporated into Version
3.1 made it impractical to maintain compatibility with Version 2.0
files. Version 2.0 files will not work with Version 3.1; if you
attempt to load a Version 2.0, you will get a critical error message,
just as if you attempted to load a spreadsheet file into the program.
We recognize that this incompatibility will cause grief for some
users, especially those who have CGA adapters since you cannot use
the new higher graphics resolutions provided in Version 3.1. We
understand that recreating your favorite slides to work with Version
3.1 is a time consuming process and we apologize for the
inconvenience.
Fortunately, we have recently created BackMAGIC, a memory resident
program which can generate slides in the background, while you use
your computer for other purposes. Please refer to the manual for
details on BackMAGIC.
MANDELBROT MAGIC USER'S MANUAL
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION PAGE
------- ----
1. INTRODUCTION.......................................1
2. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS................................2
2.1 GRAPHICS ADAPTERS.............................2
2.2 MEMORY REQUIREMENTS...........................3
2.3 COMPUTATIONAL SPEED...........................3
3. A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO FRACTALS...................4
3.1 THE MANDELBROT SET.............................4
3.2 JULIA SETS.....................................5
3.3 SUGGESTED READINGS.............................6
3.4 VIDEOS.........................................6
4. USING MANDELBROT MAGIC..............................7
4.1 STARTING MANDELBROT MAGIC......................7
4.2 CONTROL PANEL..................................8
4.3 MESSAGES AND PROMPTS...........................8
4.4 LOADING A SLIDE................................8
4.5 DISPLAYING A SLIDE.............................8
4.5.1 Color Mode..............................9
4.5.1.1 Cyclic..........................9
4.5.1.2 Sectional.......................9
4.5.1.3 Equal Areas....................10
4.5.1.4 Assigned.......................10
4.5.2 Number of Regions (Size of Color Band).10
4.5.3 Number of Colors.......................10
4.5.4 Use Black as Color.....................11
4.5.5 Show Coordinates.......................11
4.6 CONTROLLING THE SLIDE DISPLAY.................11
4.6.1 Assigning Colors.......................12
4.6.2 Changing Palettes......................14
4.7 ANIMATING A SLIDE.............................15
4.8 CREATING NEW SLIDES...........................16
4.8.1 File/Pathname..........................16
4.8.2 Slide Type.............................16
4.8.3 Compressed.............................16
4.8.4 X (Real) and Y (Imaginary).............17
4.8.5 C Value (Julia)........................17
4.8.6 Slide Size.............................17
4.8.7 Number of Iterations...................18
4.8.8 Graphics Mode..........................19
4.8.9 Show Coordinates.......................19
4.8.10 The Grid Method........................20
4.9 ZOOMING IN ON A SLIDE.........................21
4.10 CALCULATING PARAMETERS........................22
4.11 CREATING A SLIDESHOW..........................22
4.12 PRESENTING A SLIDESHOW........................23
4.13 QUITTING......................................24
4.14 PRINTING SLIDES...............................24
SUGGESTED SLIDE PARAMETERS....................25
MANDELBROT SET.........................25
JULIA SETS.............................26
CUSTOMER SERVICE..............................27
OTHER LEFT COAST PROGRAMS.....................28
EXCHEQUER..............................28
PC-AREACODE............................29
BackMAGIC..............................29
ORDER/REGISTRATION FORM.......................30
COMMAND SUMMARY...............................31
1. INTRODUCTION
Mandelbrot Magic generates color displays ("slides") of the
Mandelbrot Set and Julia Sets on IBM PC-compatible computers with
color graphics adapters. The Mandelbrot Set is perhaps the most
famous of a fascinating group of mathematical structures known as
fractals. Fractal geometry is a complicated mathematical field, but
Mandelbrot Magic is easy to use and will automatically create
spectacular slides when you specify a few simple parameters.
With Mandelbrot Magic, you can create a new slide or load and view an
existing slide from disk. The program runs on virtually any color
graphics adapter and supports four different color modes from CGA
(320 x 200 x 4 colors) to VGA (640 x 480 x 16 colors), depending on
which adapter you use. Although the program offers three automatic
coloring algorithms, the user has complete control over the color of
any point as well as the color palette. Several different
preprogrammed palettes are also provided. The program also features
different "animation" techniques which make the features in the slide
appear to move.
One of the unique things about fractals is that they reveal more and
more detail the closer you get and the small-scale details are
similar to the large-scale details. With Mandelbrot Magic, you can
graphically select any part of the slide to magnify. You can "zoom"
in on various features of the fractal and reveal more detail. You
can also create slideshows consisting of a sequence of up to 20
existing slides.
This manual includes a list of suggested parameters for interesting
slides and a list of suggested readings for those who want to explore
the theoretical foundations of fractals in greater detail.
1
2. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Mandelbrot Magic runs on any IBM PC or PS/2-compatible computer with
a minimum of 256k of memory, a color graphics adapter, a color
monitor and a single floppy disk. A hard disk is not required but is
recommended because the files used by this program are quite large
(up to 310 k). A hard disk also reduces the time required to load
existing slides from memory. Although an 80*87 math coprocessor is
not required, it is recommended. Mandelbrot Magic automatically
detects and uses the coprocessor if one is installed.
2.1 GRAPHICS ADAPTERS
Mandelbrot Magic supports the CGA, MCGA, EGA or VGA graphics adapters
and offers the following four standard graphics modes:
Number of Number of Number of
Mode X pixels Y pixels Colors
-------------------------------------------------
CGA 320 200 4
EGA Low 640 200 16
EGA High 640 350 16
VGA 640 480 16
-------------------------------------------------
Mandelbrot Magic does not currently support any 256-color normal or
extended mode on VGA adapters.
Not all graphics adapters support all four standard graphics modes.
The following chart show which modes are available on which adapters:
Graphics Adapter
--------------------------------------
Mode CGA MCGA EGA (64k) EGA VGA
-------------------------------------------------
CGA X X X X X
EGA Low X X X
EGA High X X
VGA X
-------------------------------------------------
If you try to generate or display a slide in a mode not supported by
your machine, Mandelbrot Magic will display an error message.
Mandelbrot Magic also supports the extended EGA mode (640 by 480
pixels) of the Paradise Autoswitch 480 EGA card. You must have a
Autoswitch 480 card to use this mode. WARNING: IF YOU TRY TO
2
GENERATE OR DISPLAY A SLIDE IN THIS MODE ON ANY OTHER EGA CARD, YOUR
SYSTEM WILL CRASH!!! Slides generated in Paradise mode can be
viewed on a computer with a VGA adapter but not vice versa.
2.2 MEMORY REQUIREMENTS
Mandelbrot Magic itself requires approximately 120 K of RAM while
running. However, additional memory is required to hold the slide.
The amount of additional memory needed depends upon the number of
pixels used in the slide which is a function of the graphics mode and
the slide size. The total memory needed to run Mandelbrot Magic and
to produce a full-size slide in each mode is:
K-Bytes of
Mode RAM Memory
-------------------------
CGA 190 K
EGA Low 250 K
EGA High 350 K
VGA 430 K
Paradise EGA 430 K
-------------------------
2.3 COMPUTATIONAL SPEED
Generating a fractal slide is an intensive computational task and
will often take three or four hours on a standard PC. Some slides,
however, can take up to 25 hours to generate. There are several ways
to reduce the calculation time:
o Use an 80*87 math coprocessor. Using a coprocessor will reduce
the generation time by a factor of 3 to 5.
o Buy a faster computer!
o Reduce the size of the slide. Since Mandelbrot Magic must
generate each point (pixel) in the slide, reducing the number of
pixels in the slide reduces generation time proportionately.
This is especially useful when exploring a particular area of the
Mandelbrot or Julia Sets for the first time.
o Use a lower graphics resolution.
Mandelbrot Magic has several features which help reduce computing
requirements. In addition to 80*87 support, the program takes
advantage of certain symmetries in the Mandelbrot and Julia sets to
reduce computation. You can also stop work on a slide then resume
generation at a later time. Most importantly, registered users
receive a copy of BackMAGIC, a memory resident program that generates
Mandelbrot Magic slides while you run other programs!
3
3. A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO FRACTALS
Fractal geometry is one of the newest and most exciting fields of
mathematics. It was essentially invented by Benoit Mandelbrot, an
IBM research fellow. Fractal geometry has been used to create images
and models of many different areas. From threedimensional landscapes
in movies to accurate cross-sectional models of the heart, fractals
are at the leading edge of research in many fields.
One of the unique characteristics of fractals is that they reveal
more and more detail the closer you get. Furthermore, the small
scale details are similar to the large scale details.
For example, consider a map of the coast of California with its
jagged irregularities. If you look at a map of a smaller area such
as a bay, you find that the edge of the bay has the same kind of
shapes and irregularities as the California coast. Move closer to
examine a one foot section of the shore and you again find that it
has the same kind of shapes and irregularities.
Although we will try to explain the basic concepts underlying the
Mandelbrot and Julia Sets, we cannot begin to fully explain them. If
you are interested in fractal theory (or just want to look at pretty
pictures), please refer to the publications listed in Section 3.3.
3.1 THE MANDELBROT SET
The Mandelbrot Set is perhaps the most famous of all fractals. It
has been called "the most complicated object in mathematics." It was
discovered by Benoit Mandelbrot during his work in fractal geometry.
The Mandelbrot Set exhibits the same kind of repetitive detail at
smaller and smaller scale unique to fractls. As you explore the
Set, you will find innumerable miniature copies of the Set. Although
many of these copies appear to be totally separate from the main Set,
they are not. One interesting feature of the Set is that every point
in the Set is connected. Each of these miniature sets is connected
to the main body of the Set by a "thread" of points which are also in
the Set. The Mandelbrot Set also includes an infinite number of
kaleidescopic whirls and curlicues along the edge of the Set.
The slides created by this program represent the plane of "complex"
numbers. A complex number is made up of a real part and an imaginary
part. An example of a complex number is 5 + 7i. The "5" is the real
part and the "7i" is the imaginary part. The "i" in "7i" stands for
the square root of -1. The term "imaginary" comes from the fact that
the square root of -1 does not exist. Points which lie in the
Mandelbrot Set have a real part between 0.50 and -2.00 and an
imaginary part between 1.25 and -1.25.
Each point (or pixel) on the slide represents a complex number. The
real component of the number corresponds to the X dimension while the
imaginary component lies along the Y dimension.
4
The Mandelbrot Set is generated by repeatedly performing a
mathematical process on each point in the plane of complex numbers.
A good description of this process appears in an article written by
A.K. Dewdney which appeared in the August, 1985 issue of Scientific
American:
"Begin with the algebraic expression z2 [z squared] + c, where z is a
complex number that is allowed to vary and c is [the complex number
represented by a specific point]. Set z initially to be equal to the
complex number 0. The square of z is then 0 and the result of adding
c to z2 is just c. Now substitute this result for z in the
expression z2 + c. The new sum is c2 [c squared] + c. Again
substitute for z. The next sum is (c2 + c)2 + c. Continue the
process, always making the output of the last step the input for the
next one."
After each iteration, the "size" of the resulting complex number is
determined. The size can be thought of as simply the distance from
the origin of the plane of complex numbers to the point which
represents that complex number. The size is therefore equal to the
square root of the sum of the squares of the real and imaginary parts
of the complex number. (Got that?)
As Dewdney describes: "The Mandelbrot set is the set of all complex
numbers c for which the size of z2 + c is finite even after an
indefinitely large number of iterations....A straightforward result
in the theory of complex-number iterations guarantees that the
iterations will drive z to infinity if and only if at some stage z
reaches a size of 2 or greater." As a default, this program assumes
that a specific point is in the Mandelbrot Set if the size is less
than 2 after 1000 iterations. The color of each pixel reflects the
number of iterations required for the size of z2 + c to reach 2.
3.2 JULIA SETS
Benoit Mandelbrot discovered the Mandelbrot Set while investigating
Julia Sets (named for the French mathematician Gaston Julia). Unlike
the unique Mandelbrot Set, however, there are an infinite number of
Julia Sets of many different types.
Julia Sets are generated using essentially the same mathematical
procedures as are used to generate the Mandelbrot Set. The only
difference is that c is set to a constant and z is the value of the
the complex number represented by a specific point in the display.
Here's the fascinating part! The value of c determines what the
associated Julia Set looks like. Mandelbrot discovered that the
general shape of the Julia Set depends upon where c is in relation to
the Mandelbrot Set. When c is far from the edge of the Mandelbrot
Set, the result is much different than if c lies inside the Set.
The most interesting Sets are produced when c lies very near the edge
of the Mandelbrot Set. Mandelbrot Magic provides a very easy way to
select these points and generate slides of interesting Julia Sets.
5
3.3 SUGGESTED READINGS
If you are interested in the theory of fractals, the following books
and articles are especially informative. The Dewdney article is the
best introduction to the theory of fractals while Gleick's book is a
readable account of the history of fractals and how they relate to
the fascinating new field of chaos. Gleick's book is available in
paperback in all serious bookstores. The Peitgen books can usually
be found in large bookstores near major universities.
Barnsley, Michael. Fractals Everywhere. San Diego: Academic
Press, 1988.
Dewdney, A.K. "Computer Recreations: A computer microscope zooms
in for a look at the most complex object in mathematics",
Scientific American (August 1985), pp. 16-20.
Dewdney, A.K. "Computer Recreations: Of fractal mountains,
graftal plants and other computer graphics at Pixar," Scientific
American (November, 1987), pp. 14-20.
Gleick, J. Chaos, Making a New Science. New York: Viking, 1987.
Mandelbrot, Benoit B. The Fractal Geometry of Nature. New York:
Freemant & Co., 1983.
Peitgen, H.O. & Richter, P.H. The Beauty of Fractals. New York:
Springer-Verlag, 1985.
Peitgen, H.O. & Saupe, D. The Science of Fractal Images. New
York: Springer-Verlag, 1988.
If your theoretical interest in fractals and chaos is very strong,
you should also contact Clifford Pickover of IBM and request
information on the Journal of Chaos and Graphics. He will send you
information on how to obtain back copies along with issues of other
papers. Many of these are available for free from IBM. His address:
Clifford A. Pickover
IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598
3.4 VIDEOS
Media Magic sells three interesting videotapes with fractal images --
"Fractal Fantasy", "Frontiers of Chaos" and "Nothing But Zooms" --
along with books, calendars and other assorted fractal-related items.
Their address:
Media Magic
P.O. Box 2069
Mill Valley, CA 94942
(415) 381-4224
6
4. USING MANDELBROT MAGIC
Before using Mandelbrot Magic, be sure to make at least one backup
copy on a floppy diskette and store it in a safe place. If you want
to run Mandelbrot Magic off of your hard disk, copy all of the
program files to an appropriate directory. If you want to be able to
run Mandelbrot Magic from any directory, make sure that you add the
name of the directory containing MM.EXE to your DOS path. Refer to
the DOS manual for details on the PATH command if you are unfamiliar
with how to do this.
So where do you start with Mandelbrot Magic and just what the heck do
you do with it? Well, there are several slides on the distribution
diskette. Three of these slides (M1*.PIC) show the entire Mandelbrot
Set at three different resolutions (i.e. graphics modes). You will
undoubtedly want to explore the Mandelbrot Set by magnifying certain
parts of this slide. Working from these slides, you can use the
program's Zoom function to select areas or you can enter the
coordinates of the area directly (there is a list of some interesting
values at the end of this manual). Then you make slides of the new
areas and zoom in on them, etc, etc...
Although there is only one Mandelbrot Set, there are an infinite
number of Julia Sets. So you can approach the exploration of this
type of fractal in two ways: (1) you can produce large-scale pictures
of lots and lots of Julia Sets or (2) you can zoom in on slides of
interesting Julia Sets and explore their features in greater detail.
In practice, you will undoubtedly do both.
This program comes with several sample slides. Two of these
(M1_CGA.PIC and M1_EGA.PIC) are complete and can be displayed
immediately. The others are incomplete; you can finish them by
loading the appropriate file into the program (F9), then pressing F8
to finish creating them.
4.1 STARTING MANDELBROT MAGIC
To run Mandelbrot Magic, move to the directory with MM.EXE and type:
MM
then hit <Return>. Assuming you have the proper graphics adapter,
the title screen will be displayed. Next, a shareware information
screen will be displayed. When you press a key, this disappears and
the main Control Panel appears. If you do not have an acceptable
graphics adapter, the program will refuse to run.
If you want, you can avoid the title screen and shareware information
screen by starting Mandelbrot Magic by typing either:
MM Q or MM /Q
then pressing <Return>. You can enter an upper or lower case "Q".
7
4.2 CONTROL PANEL
The Control Panel is used to enter all of the parameters used while
creating or displaying slides. The parameters for each slide are
stored with that slide. Specific functions such as loading files,
displaying slides or creating new slides are invoked by pressing the
Function keys (F1 through F10).
The Control Panel is divided into two sections -- a parameters
section on top and a function key menu on the bottom. The top
section contains two types of fields -- data fields where you will
enter values for use in generating and displaying slides and status
fields which just display information.
The arrow keys, Home, End and <Return> can be used to move among the
data fields. When entering data, pressing <Backspace> will delete
the last character or digit. Each of the fields is described below.
4.3 MESSAGES AND PROMPTS
Error messages and prompts appear in boxes in the middle of the
screen. Most messages and prompts can be cancelled by pressing
<Esc>. Prompts which require a Yes or No answer have a default value
which are shown in brackets [ ] after the prompt. When a default
value is shown, pressing any key except the opposite of the default
will use the default value. For example, if the default is "Y" then
you must press "N" or "n" to override the default.
4.4 LOADING A SLIDE
You can load an existing slide by simply typing the name of the file
containing the slide in the Filename field, then pressing F9.
Mandelbrot Magic verifies that the slide exists, checks that the
slide can be displayed on your computer, then loads the slide into
memory and displays its parameters on the Control Panel. The time
required to load a file depends upon both the size of the file (as
determined by its resolution and its size) and whether the file was
compressed during creation (See Section 4.8.3).
4.5 DISPLAYING A SLIDE
Once you have loaded a slide (or created a new one), you can display
it by pressing F10. You can also display a slide by pressing F1, F5,
F6 or F7. If you press on of these other keys, the slide will be
displayed just as if you pressed F10. However, the function
associated with these keys (as described below) is invoked
immediately once the slide is displayed.
When you press F10, the screen will be cleared and Mandelbrot Magic
will display the slide. Since each pixel must be drawn individually,
displaying a slide can take as long as 20 seconds. The time required
to display a slide depends upon the number of pixels (as determined
by graphics mode and slide size) and the speed of your computer.
8
You can control how the slide is displayed by entering appropriate
values for the following parameters:
4.5.1 Color Mode
Mandelbrot Magic provides complete control over the colors of your
slide by allowing you to modify the color assignments (i.e. which
color number is assigned to which pixel) and the color palette (i.e.
which actual color is assigned to each color number). As described
in Section 3, the color of each point is based upon the number of
iterations required for the size of the point to exceed a certain
limit. Of course, all pixels which have identical values (i.e.
number of iterations) will be the same color at all times.
Mandelbrot Magic provides four separate mechanisms for assigning
colors to individual pixels in a slide. Select a color mode by
highlighting the color mode field on the Control Panel and pressing
the <Space> bar to cycle through these four choices. Once the slide
is displayed, you can redisplay the slide with a different color mode
by pressing F10 in conjunction with another key. The key combination
for each mode is listed after the name of the color mode in the
following descriptions:
4.5.1.1 Cyclic (Ctrl-F10)
If you select the Cyclic color mode, Mandelbrot Magic will assign
color numbers to various iteration values according to a regular
cycle. For example, pixels with values of 1 will be colored with
color number 1, pixels with values of 2 will be colored with color
number 2,... pixels with values of 15 will be colored with color
number 15, etc. When Mandelbrot Magic runs out of colors, it simply
starts over again.
When you select this mode, you should also input the number of colors
to be used in the slide and the width of the color band. In the
preceding example, the color band width is 1. If you set the band
width to 3, then pixels with values of 1, 2 or 3 will be colored with
color number 1, pixels with values of 4, 5, or 6 will be color with
color number 2, etc.
4.5.1.2 Sectional (Shift-F10)
When you select the Sectional color mode, Mandelbrot Magic divides
the total range of possible pixel values (from 1 to the maximum
number of iterations) and divides into equal sections. All pixels
within a certain range would then be colored with the same color.
For example, if you have a slide with a maximum iteration count of
1000 and divide it into 50 sections, then all pixels with values from
1 to 20 will be colored with color number 1, all pixels from 21 to 40
will be colored with color number 2, etc. When you select this color
mode, you must also input the number of color regions since this
controls how many sections are used.
9
Although the Sectional and Cyclic color modes are conceptually
different, they can usually be used to produce identical results.
For example, if you have a slide with a maximum iteration count and
divide it into 50 sections using the Sectional mode, you can achieve
the same result by using the Cyclic mode with a bandwidth of 20 (1000
divided by 50).
4.5.1.3 Equal Areas (F10)
When the Equal Areas mode is chosen, Mandelbrot Magic will divide the
slide into separate color regions of approximately equal size. You
must therefore enter the number of color regions on the Control Panel
when you select this mode.
This mode often produces the best visual results. Since most slides
have areas where the pixel values vary widely, the Cyclic and
Sectional mode will make these areas appear very speckled. In some
cases, virtually all detail is lost. The Equal Areas mode can avoid
this problem.
4.5.1.4 Assigned (Alt-F10)
Mandelbrot Magic also allows you to assign any color to any pixel
value by pressing F5. The mechanism for doing this is described in
detail in Section 4.6.1 - Assigning Colors. If you select this
mode, Mandelbrot Magic will first display the slide using the
Sectional color mode. You can then assign colors as you choose.
Although the Assigned mode requires the most work, it is extremely
useful precisely because it allows you to assign colors on a point by
point basis. Thus, you have complete control over how the slide will
look.
4.5.2 Number of Regions (Size of Color Band)
This parameter controls how many separate color regions will appear
on the slide. The maximum number of regions is 99 and the minimum
number is 1. Depending upon the Color Mode and the characteristics
of the slide itself, the actual number of color regions you see at
any give time may be less than the number you entered.
In the Cyclic mode, this field is used to input the size of the color
band rather than the number of regions. For example, if you enter
"5" then the color will change every 5 steps.
4.5.3 Number of Colors
This parameter selects how many different colors will be used in the
slide. The maximum is determined by the graphics mode selected while
generating the slide. For the CGA mode, the maximum number of colors
is 4 while it is 16 in EGA and VGA modes.
10
4.5.4 Use Black As Color
This value controls whether Mandelbrot Magic will use the background
color (which is black by default but can be changed) in displaying
the slide. The background color is ALWAYS used to color the
Mandelbrot Set or Julia Set itself (i.e. those points which have
values equal to the maximum number of iterations). If you set this
parameter to YES, then the background color will appear in other
places in the slide as well. The default value is NO. The practical
effect of using black as a color is to insert bands of black into the
slide.
4.5.5 Show Coordinates
If this parameter is set to YES when displaying a slide, then maximum
and minimum X and Y coordinates will be shown on the slide. If it is
set to YES while creating a slide, then Mandelbrot Magic will also
display the elapsed time since the slide was started in hours and
minutes (e.g. 3:17) and the percent of the slide that is complete.
When you are done viewing the slide, press <Esc> to return to the
Control Panel (you will be prompted to confirm this step).
You cannot display a slide with a graphics mode different from the
one used when it was created. The mode (and thus the resolution) is
determined during the creation of the slide. If you enter a
different mode, Mandelbrot Magic just ignores the information.
4.6 CONTROLLING THE SLIDE DISPLAY
Once you have displayed a slide, you can control many aspects of the
display. As discussed above, you can redisplay the slide with a
different color mode (without returning to the Control Panel) by
pressing one of the following keys:
F10 Redisplays the slide using the Equal Areas color mode.
Ctrl-F10 Redisplays the slide using the Cyclic color mode.
Shift-F10 Redisplays the slide using the Sectional color mode.
Alt-F10 Redisplays the slide using the Assigned color mode.
Prior to redisplaying a slide, you can change the number of regions
(or width of the colorband with the Cyclic method) without returning
to the Control Panel by pressing Alt-N. A data input box will pop up
on the screen; simply enter the new number and press <Return>. Press
<Esc> if you decide not to change this number.
You can also control the palette by pressing the following keys:
B or b Cycles the background color (which is used to color the
Mandelbrot or Julia Set itself) through all possible
combinations.
11
P or p In EGA or VGA mode, cycles through 10 predefined color
palettes. In CGA mode, cycles through four predefined
palettes.
Home Restores the palette to the default values.
End In EGA or VGA mode, generates a random palette out of all
possible colors. In CGA mode, selects a new background
color at random.
Up "Rotates" the palette upward (i.e. the colors shift toward
higher pixel values).
Down "Rotates" the palette downward (i.e. the colors shift
toward lower pixel values).
PgUp Continuously rotates the palette upward. This is similar
to holding the Up Arrow key down continuously.
PgDn Continuously rotates the palette downward. This is similar
to holding the Down Arrow key down continuously.
+ Increases the delay between successive rotations of the
palette when either PgUp or PgDn is pressed. In other
words, it slows down the display.
- Decrease the delay between successive rotations of the
palette when either PgUp or PgDn is pressed. In other
words, it speeds up the display.
After pressing "+" or "-", you must press PgUp or PgDn again to
restart the palette rotation.
4.6.1 Assigning Colors
When you select the Assigned color mode, Mandelbrot Magic will
display the slide using the colors you choose. To make the actual
color assignments, press F5 while a slide is displayed. A Color
Window will appear at the bottom of the slide. If you press F5 from
the Control Panel, the slide will first be displayed, then the Color
Window will appear. You can also access the Color Window from the
Palette Window directly by pressing F5 (See following Section).
The Color Window displays a relative frequency graph for the slide.
The X axis of the graph shows all of the pixel values from 1 to 250
(see Section 4.8.7 for a more complete discussion of pixel values).
The pixel value is simply the number of iterations required before a
pixel exceeds the limit for inclusion in either a the Mandelbrot or a
Julia Set.
The Y axis of the chart plots the number of pixels in the slide which
have the corresponding pixel value. The range of the Y axis is from
0 to 1.0, where 1.0 represents the maximum number of pixels for any
12
single pixel value (excluding the limit value). If there are no
points with a specific pixel value, then no line is plotted for that
point. Note that there is a minimum plot height for any value which
has a non-zero number of pixels. Thus, a value with 1 pixel might
appear to be the same as a value with 100 pixels. This is done to
improve the readability of the chart and has little practical impact
upon the chart.
At the bottom of the graph is an arrow which points to the current
pixel value. You can move the arrow using the following keys:
Left Arrow Moves the Arrow one pixel to the left.
Right Arrow Moves the arrow one pixel to the right.
Home Moves the arrow to the left hand edge of the chart
(i.e. a pixel value of 1).
End Moves the arrow to the right hand edge of the chart
(i.e. a pixel value of 250).
Once you have selected a specific pixel value, you can change its
value with the following keys:
Up Arrow Increases the color number of that pixel value by 1.
<Return>
<Space>
+
Down Arrow Decreases the color number of that pixel value by 1.
-
Finally, you can "paint" adjacent areas of the graph by using the
Left and Right Arrow keys in combination with the Ctrl Key:
Ctrl-Right Moves the Arrow one pixel to the right and "drags" the
current color to the new pixel.
Ctrl-Left Moves the Arrow one pixel to the left and "drags" the
current color to the new pixel.
Note that this window can only be used to assign colors, not
palettes. For example, if you keep pressing the up arrow, you will
cycle through the 16 current colors in the palette rather than the
maximum of 64 colors which is available on an EGA or VGA. You can,
however, go directly to the Palette Window (see following Section) by
pressing F6. You can return to the Color Window by pressing F5.
Press <Esc> to close the Color Window and return to the slide.
In addition to assigning colors, the relative frequency graph also
provides useful information for generating slides. Specifically, it
will show you how many pixels were close to the limit on iterations
for that slide. If there is a large mass of pixels at the right hand
13
end of the graph, this suggests that you should use a larger number
of iterations to reveal more detail. Conversely, you should use
fewer iteration (and save time) if most of the points are at the left
hand side of the graph.
4.6.2 Changing Palettes
Although the EGA and VGA adapters can only display 16 colors at a
time, these colors can be chosen from a total of 64 different colors.
The current selection of 16 colors out of these 64 options is called
the current palette. (In EGA low resolution mode of 640 x 200
pixels, there are only 16 possible colors. The current palette can
thus include all available colors, although this is not mandatory).
Mandelbrot Magic provides several ways to alter the current palette.
Changes to the palette are reflected immediately on the slide.
You can change the color palette by pressing B, P, Home and End as
discussed in Section 4.6. In addition, you can achieve total control
over the color palette by pressing F6 while a slide is displayed. A
Palette Window will appear at the top of the slide. If you press F6
from the Control Panel, the slide will first be displayed, then the
Palette Window will appear. You can also access the Palette Window
from the Color Window by pressing F6 (see preceding section).
Please note that because of the CGA's design, you cannot change the
color palette when displaying a slide generated at CGA resolution
(even if you have an EGA or VGA). You can only cycle through the
four pre-programmed palettes by pressing "P".
The Palette Window displays 16 color blocks which represent the 16
current colors in the palette. The leftmost block shows color number
0 while the rightmost block shows color 15. (Color 0 is the
background color). Below the color blocks is an arrow which points
to the current color. You can move the arrow to select a different
color by using the following keys:
Left Arrow Moves the Arrow one block to the left.
Right Arrow Moves the arrow one block to the right.
Home Moves the arrow to the first color (0).
End Moves the arrow to the last color (15).
Once you have selected a specific color, you can change its value
with the following keys:
Up Arrow Increments the current color by 1.
<Return>
<Space>
+
PgUp Increments the current color by 8.
14
Down Arrow Decrements the current color by 1.
-
PgDn Decrements the current color by 8.
Mandelbrot Magic's color spectrum does not correspond to the sequence
of the EGA's default palette or to the octal numbers often used to
refer to its colors. All of the available colors are arranged a
crude, linear spectrum which runs from black to gray to purple to
blue to green to yellow to red to white. When you change one of the
palette colors, you are moving through this linear sequence. When
you reach one end, you automatically start over at the other end.
This spectrum groups all similar colors together and makes it easy to
find the color you want.
You can also access the Color Window from the Palette Window by
pressing F5. Pressing F6 again returns you to the Palette Window.
Press <Esc> to return to the slide display.
4.7 ANIMATING A SLIDE
Pressing F7 while a slide is displayed "animates" the slide so that
it is redisplayed continuously. After each pass, the color "map"
which Mandelbrot Magic uses to determine the color of each pixel is
modified. As a result, different areas of the slide will appear to
"grow". This effect is most interesting on fast computers, at lower
resolutions, and with a relatively small number of color regions
(less than 8). It is also interesting to let the animation run for
an hour or two and check it occasionally since you will see a wide
range of color assignments.
You can control the animation with the following keys:
Up Animates the slide in the "up" direction, i.e. colors
move toward higher pixel values.
Down Animates the slide in the "down" direction, i.e. colors
move toward lower pixel values.
+ Increases the delay between slide displays, thus slowing
the animation down.
- Decreases the delay between slide displays, thus speeding
the animation up.
<Esc> Stops the animation.
Unless you have an incredibly fast computer, you will almost
certainly not want to slow down the animation process. As a default,
Mandelbrot Magic runs the animation at the fastest possible speed.
Finally, when you press <Esc>, the animation stops immediately. You
will probably want to redisplay the slide by pressing one of the F10
key combinations.
15
4.8 CREATING NEW SLIDES
This is the heart of Mandelbrot Magic. Unfortunately, generating a
slide is an extremely intensive computational task. Even a CGA-mode
slide contains 64,000 pixels, each of which must be calculated
independently. A VGA-mode slide contains over 300,000 pixels!
Furthermore, the calculations required to produce a slide utilize
floating point arithmetic which greatly increases the computation
time. It can take up to 25 hours to generate a reasonably complex
slide on a standard IBM PC without a math coprocessor.
There are two ways to minimize the inconvenience of long processing
times. First, you can create the slides at night or during some
other time when you do not need your computer, then display them at a
later time. Alternatively, you can register for Mandelbrot Magic and
get a copy of BackMAGIC, our memory resident program that generates
slides in the background while you use your computer for other
purposes.
(Note: Mandelbrot Magic, like many graphics programs, is incompatible
with many screen blankers. Once the screen is blanked, your system
may freeze. This is generally not a problem while viewing a slide
since you will probably press a key often enough to keep the screen
blanker from clearing the screen. It is a problem while generating
slides, however, so you should deactivate any screen blanker while
creating a slide).
You can create a new slide by entering the following parameters, then
pressing F8 or Alt-F8 (See Section 4.8.10):
4.8.1 File/Pathname
This is simply the name of the file which will store the values used
in the slide. Any DOS-acceptable filename can be used and you can
use any extension. If you want to store the slide in a directory/
disk different from the current disk/directory, simply enter the
complete pathname (i.e. a:\fractals\slide1.pic).
4.8.2 Slide Type
There are two different Slide Types: Mandelbrot and Julia Set. Press
the <Space> bar to toggle between these two values.
4.8.3 Compressed
Since Mandelbrot Magic must store a separate value for each pixel in
the slide, the slide files can become quite large. For example, a
VGA mode slide (640 by 480 pixels) uses over 307 K of disk space. If
you want, Mandelbrot Magic will automatically compress this data as
it generates the slide. Press <Space> to select the option you want.
You can typically reduce the size of the file by 40 to 70 percent.
In addition, compressed files often load faster than uncompressed
files. Once you set this parameter, you cannot change the type of
16
the slide file. Once a slide is compressed, it must remain
compressed and vice versa.
Mandelbrot Magic uses a proprietary data compression scheme tailored
to the unique characteristics of its slide files. You can also use a
commerical data compression program to compress a slide files (even
if it is already compressed using Mandelbrot Magic). If you use a
standalone compression program, you must first decompress the file
before you can load it into Mandelbrot Magic.
4.8.4 X (Real) and Y (Imaginary)
The maximum and minimum values for X and Y determine the part of the
Mandelbrot or Julia Set which will be displayed on the slide. As
discussed in Section 3, X refers to the real component of the complex
number plane and Y refers to the imaginary component of the complex
number plan.
The maximum acceptable value is 9.9999... while the minimum value is
-9.9999.... The entire Mandelbrot Set lies within the range of X
equals -2.5 to 1.0 and Y equals -1.5 to 1.5. These are essentially
the default values for the program which appear when you first start
Mandelbrot Magic. Similary, the range of X equals -2.0 to 2.0 and Y
equals -1.5 to 1.5 will usually display all of a Julia Set.
Mandelbrot Magic provides a way to enter these values automatically
(See Section 4.10).
When you enter values for X and Y, the difference between the maximum
and minimum values will be displayed on the Control Panel. This is
designed as an aid to help you enter appropriate values.
Mandelbrot Magic also provides two other functions to aid in the
selection of proper X and Y parameters. These are the Zoom function
(See Section 4.4.9) and the Calculate Parameters function (See
Section 4.10).
4.8.5 C Value (Julia)
If you want to create a slide of a Julia Set, you must also enter a
seed value (C) for the Set. This seed value has both a real (X) and
imaginary (Y) component since it represents a point in the complex
number plane. When creating a Mandelbrot Set slide, Mandelbrot Magic
ignores these parameters.
4.8.6 Slide Size
Mandelbrot Magic usually creates a slide which fills the entire
display screen. You can create smaller slides by changing the X and
Y dimensions of the slide. To change the slide size, enter the size
of each dimension (in percent) in the appropriate field. Do not
enter the number of pixels; Mandelbrot Magic automatically determines
how many pixels will be in the slide. The values you enter for X and
Y cannot be used to set the slide size; Mandelbrot Magic always uses
the slide size parameters to set slide size and then automatically
17
centers the area which you specified with the X and Y values in the
middle of the slide.
Why would you want to make a slide that didn't fill the entire
screen? A smaller slide takes less time to calculate, which can be
handy when you are just looking for interesting areas. Or you might
want to create a small slide first to verify that all your other
parameters are correct before generating a full size slide. Or you
might want to focus on a particular feature in a Set which has a much
different aspect ratio than your screen.
4.8.7 Number of Iterations
As discussed in Section 3, points lie in the Mandelbrot set or a
Julia set only if their "size" does not exceed a preset limit after a
certain number of iterations. This data field determines how many
times the program will perform the mathematical process described in
Section 3.
The maximum number of iterations is the default value of 1000. This
is a rather arbitrary number; theoretically, the calculation should
be performed an infinite number of times. This is impractical,
however, and using a smaller number can cut processing time
significantly. This is especially important if large sections of
your slide are in the Set. We recommend that you start with an
iteration count of 100 and increase it only as warranted.
Although a small number of iterations can increase processing time
significantly, a value which is too small creates other problems.
Specifically, many points which are not actually in the Set will be
treated as though they are in the Set. If there are too many such
points, the resolution of the slide deteriorates and you begin to
lose features.
There are two easy ways to tell if you are using too few iterations.
First, there will be more black areas (i.e. points that are in the
Set) on the slide than you would expect. Second, you can view the
relative frequency graph in the Colors Window (see Section 4.6.1).
If most of the pixels are near the right hand side of the graph, you
probably need to increase the number of iterations.
Although Mandelbrot Magic can calculate up to 1000 iterations,
Mandelbrot Magic does not store values higher than 250. It
automatically scales the resulting pixel values (1 to 1000) into the
range of 1 to 250. For example, if you use 750 iterations, all of
the resulting pixel values will be divided by 3 before they are
stored. In practice, you shouldn't notice the scaling if you choose
the number of iterations wisely. For example, you should not choose
iteration values which are slightly higher than 250, 500 or 750 since
these are the scaling cutoffs and you will lose a lot of resolution.
18
4.8.8 Graphics Mode
Mandelbrot Magic supports five different graphics mode as discussed
in Section 2. To select one of these modes, highlight this field on
the Control Panel and press the <Space> bar repeatedly until you see
that mode. Once a slide is generated, its graphics mode cannot be
changed. When it is displayed, it will automatically be displayed in
the proper mode.
4.8.9 Show Coordinates
When this parameter is toggled to YES, the X and Y coordinates for
the slide will be displayed. During generation, the elapsed time and
the percentage of slide saved to disk will also be displayed after
each column of pixels is displayed. Unfortunately, there is no
direct correlation between the elapsed time, the percentage of pixels
already calculated, and the total generation time.
When you press F8 after entering the preceding parameters, Mandelbrot
Magic verifies that your computer supports the graphics mode
selected, that there is sufficient RAM to generate the slide, that
the file does not already exist, and that there is sufficient disk
space to store the slide. Since Mandelbrot Magic cannot determine
how large a compressed slide file will be in advance, it assumes that
the slide file will not be compressed when it checks for disk space.
As Mandelbrot Magic generates a slide, it displays each pixel as it
finishes calculating that pixel. You can therefore see the status of
the slide at any time. The slide will originally be displayed with
an arbitrary color mapping. Depending on the area you are viewing,
this original display may not be particularly appealing.
Mandelbrot Magic also takes advantage of certain symmetries in the
Mandelbrot and Julia Sets to reduce the calculation time.
Consequently, certain parts of a slide may be displayed almost
instantaneously.
When a slide is finished, you can return to the Control Panel by
pressing <Esc> or you can display the slide immediately by pressing
one of the F10 combination keys. You cannot utilize any of the
display functions until you redisplay the slide.
Mandelbrot Magic allows you to stop generating a slide at any time by
pressing <Esc>. You will be asked to confirm that you want to quit.
When you halt a slide, only the data for current column is lost and
you can restart the slide at a later time.
If you want Mandelbrot Magic to work on a partially completed slide,
simply load that slide file (by entering the filename and pressing
F9), then press F8. Mandelbrot Magic will restore all of the
parameters used when you started the slide and will start generating
the slide where it stopped.
19
A number of incomplete slide files are included with this program.
These files all have the extension ".PIC". To complete them, simply
enter their names, press F9 to load, then press F8.
4.8.10 The Grid Method
With Version 3.1, we have implemented a new slide generation
algorithm which can GREATLY reduce calculation times, especially if
you do not have a math coprocessor. This algorithm is based upon the
following concept: If you enclose an area of a slide with points
have the same iteration value, then every point within that area has
the same value. Although we do not know if this has been proved
mathematically yet, it makes sense intuitively and it generates
slides correctly (at least during our tests).
The new algorithm works by overlaying a series of successively
smaller grids on the slide. After each grid is produced, each square
of the grid is check to see if all the points on its perimeter are
equal. If so, then the entire square is filled with that value.
When the last grid is produced, Mandelbrot Magic starts generating
the slide with the normal algorithm.
This method can substantially reduce the time required to produce a
slide. Furthermore, the time savings are exponential; the longer it
takes to produce a slide, the greater the percentage savings. Our
tests indicate that this method does not save much time on slides
which can be generated in less than 20 minutes (on an XT with an
8087). On most slides, the new method saves 20 to 40 percent. On
really complex slides, the savings can be astounding. One slide
which took 27 hours to produce (with an 8087) with the standard
method took just 5 hours with the new method! Likewise, the savings
when NOT using an 8087 are impressive (often 50 to 80 percent).
To use this grid method, create the slide by pressing Alt-F8. To
bypass the new method and create a slide with the normal algorithm,
just press F8. If you want to stop a slide, press ESC. If you are
using the new method, Mandelbrot Magic will start generating the
slide with the old method. Press ESC again if you want to stop the
slide entirely and return to the Control Panel. Note that the two
methods are interchangeable -- you can start a slide with one method,
stop it, then resume calculation with the other method.
There is one disadvantage to this new method. Mandelbrot Magic does
not save any of the slide data to disk while it is using the new
method. No data is saved until the grid process is completed and
Mandelbrot Magic starts generating the slide one row at a time. The
percent complete indicator on the screen represents the percentage of
the slide which has been saved to disk, not the percentage that has
been calculated. Consequently, you should probably not use this new
method if you know that you will not be able to finish the slide or
at least complete a large part of it.
20
4.9 ZOOMING IN ON A SLIDE
The best part of using Mandelbrot Magic is simply exploring the
various sets. When you display a Set at large scale, you will
invariably see an area of the slide that you would like to "zoom" in
on or enlarge. Mandelbrot Magic provides a very convenient way to do
this via its Zoom function.
The Zoom function is invoked by pressing F1 whenever you see a slide
or from the Control Panel (in which case the slide will first be
displayed). When F1 is pressed, a cursor appears in the middle of
the slide. With certain color combinations, the cursor does not
stand out too well, but it is there. To use the Zoom function, you
move the cursor to one corner of the area you want to enlarge, and
press <Return> to select that location as one corner of the area.
When you move the cursor again, a "rubberband" Zoom box appears.
You can stretch this box with the arrow keys to enclose exactly the
area you want to enlarge, then press <Return> again to select the
area within the box for zooming. After you have selected one corner
of the zoom box, you can make any other corner of the box the
"active" corner by pressing Home, End, PgUp or PgDn. For example,
pressing Home makes the upper-left corner of the box the active
corner. Pressing the arrow keys will move this corner.
The following keys move the cursor:
Arrow Keys Moves the cursor one pixel in the appropriate
direction.
Shift-Arrow Keys Moves the cursor twenty (20) pixels (10 in CGA
mode) in the appropriate direction.
Home When the crosshair cursor is displayed, these
End keys move the cursor to the corresponding corner
PgUp of the slide (e.g. Home moves to upper-left
PgDn corner). When a zoom box is displayed, these
keys make the corresponding corner of the zoom
box the "active" corner.
If you decide you would rather zoom in on different area of the
slide, repeat the process. Press <Esc> to cancel the zoom function.
As you move the cursor around the slide, you will notice a number on
the left hand side of the screen. This number is simply the value of
the pixel which is at the center of the cursor. Thus, the Zoom
function can also be used simply to understand the slide better.
If you want to generate a slide of the zoom area, simply return to
the Control Panel, supply a new filename and other appropriate
parameters, then press F8 or Alt-F8 to create the slide. You do not
need to worry about whether the area you selected with the Zoom
function fits the slide size. Mandelbrot Magic automatically centers
the area you selected within the new slide and calculates appropriate
21
X and Y values so you never lose any of the Zoom area.
The Zoom function can also be used to select C values for generating
Julia Sets. When you are zooming in on a slide of the Mandelbrot
Set, the first location you select with the cursor is also used as
the C value on the Control Panel.
The value of C has a significant impact upon the shape and complexity
of the corresponding Julia Set. The most interesting Julia Sets are
generated when you select a C value which is very near the edge of
the Mandelbrot Set. Thus, you can display a slide of the Mandelbrot
Set, select a C value with the Zoom function, then return to the
Control Panel and generate a slide of a Julia Set which uses that C
value. However, the X and Y parameters selected off of the
Mandelbrot Set slide will almost certainly be inappropriate for the
Julia Set slide. The Calculate Parameters function (see next
section) can help with this problem.
4.10 CALCULATING PARAMETERS
After slide generation time, the biggest headache in producing slides
is entering accurate X and Y values. The Zoom function, along with
Mandelbrot Magic's ability to automatically center a zoom area within
a new slide, can minimize this problem.
However, there will be times when you need help with calculating
parameters and Mandelbrot Magic provides that help via the F2 key.
The Calculate Parameters function is used by highlighting a specific
field on the Control Panel, then pressing F2. The result varies with
the location of the cursor.
If one of the X or Y values is highlighted, Mandelbrot Magic will
automatically recalculate that value using the three other X and Y
values as well as the slide size parameters.
If one of the slide size fields is highlighted, Mandelbrot Magic will
automatically calculate the correct slide size using the maximum and
minimum X and Y values already entered. This allows you to have a
slide contain just the area which you selected with the Zoom
function. Although the program first tries to adjust the highlighted
parameter, it will sometimes adjust both slide dimensions if
necessary to fit the X and Y values which were entered.
If the Type of Slide field is highlighted, pressing the F2 key will
reset the X and Y parameters to the default values for that type of
slide (Mandelbrot or Julia). The default values will produce a slide
which contains the entire set. This is especially useful when
generating a slide of a new Julia Set for the first time.
4.11 CREATING A SLIDESHOW
With Mandelbrot Magic, you can create a "slideshow" of up to 20
existing slides. If you press F3, you will be prompted for the name
of the slideshow file. This can be any DOS-acceptable file/pathname.
22
When you enter a filename and press <Return>, Mandelbrot Magic first
checks to see if this file already exists. If it does, that file
will be loaded so you can edit it. Otherwise, a new slideshow file
is created.
A new screen appears which is used to enter the names of up to 20
existing slide files. In addition to the filename, enter the other
parameters which you want to be used when the slide is displayed such
as number of color regions, number of colors, the color mode, and
whether you want to use black as a color. You may use the arrow keys
to move around the input screen. The Home, End, PgUp and PgDn keys
also move the cursor around the screen.
When you are done entering data, press <Esc> to return to the Control
Panel. The updated/new slideshow will automatically be stored in the
slideshow file. You can then run the slideshow at any time in the
future by pressing the F4 function key.
Three sample slideshows are included with this program. These
slideshows have the name "DEMO.*" where "*" is either CGA, E64, or
EGA (for the applicable adapters). You can run these slideshows
directly. However, some of the slides included in the slideshows
have not been finished yet. If you run the slideshow with an
incomplete slide, Mandelbrot Magic will not load the slide and will
sound a beep.
4.12 PRESENTING A SLIDESHOW
Pressing the F4 function key presents a previously created slideshow.
When you press F4, you will be prompted for the name of the slideshow
file you want to present. If the file exists, the program will then
load and display the first slide listed in the slideshow file.
This slide will originally be displayed using the parameters stored
for it in the slideshow file. Once displayed, however, you can
manipulate colors and palettes freely or redisplay the slide using
one of the F10 key combinations (F10, Ctrl-F10, Alt-F10, Shift-F10).
In short, you can do anything you can do when you display a single
slide.
When you are finished with a slide, press <Esc> to load and view the
next slide immediately. Mandelbrot Magic will ask you to confirm
that you want to advance before it destroys the current slide.
Continue advancing through the slideshow until it is complete. When
the slideshow is finished, you will be returned to the main screen.
You can also end the slideshow and return to the main screen at any
time by pressing Alt-Q.
If Mandelbrot Magic cannot load one of the slide files, the program
will sound a beep. Simply press <Esc> to continue.
23
4.13 QUITTING
You can only quit Mandelbrot Magic from the main Control Panel. If
you press <Esc>, you will exit from the program and return to DOS.
You will be asked to confirm that you do, in fact, want to quit.
If you want to quit while a slide is displayed, first return to the
Control Panel by pressing <Esc> and confirming that you want to end
the display. Then press <Esc> again.
4.14 PRINTING SLIDES
Mandelbrot Magic currently has no built-in capability to print copies
of a slide. However, a rudimentary printout can be obtained of
slides by using the GRAPHICS.COM program provided with DOS. This
program can be loaded as part of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Once
loaded, slides can be printed by pressing <SHIFT> and <Prt Sc>
simultaneously.
The GRAPHICS.COM program supplied as part of DOS 4.x will produce
printouts of slides in any graphics mode (CGA, EGA, VGA). Earlier
versions of GRAPHICS.COM do not work with EGA or VGA mode slides and
will only produce printouts of CGA mode slides.
The DOS 4.x version of GRAPHICS.COM does not normally work with
earlier versions of DOS. This is a problem for users who purchased
DOS 4.x but have decided (for whatever reason) not to use it.
However, you can allegedly patch the new version of GRAPHICS.COM so
it will work with earlier DOS versions. See PC Magazine, April 25,
1989, page 315 for details. Left Coast has not tested this patch and
assumes no responsibility for the results if you try it.
24
SUGGESTED SLIDE PARAMETERS
Almost any part of the Mandelbrot or Julia Sets can produce
innumerable interesting slides. As you explore these sets, you will
undoubtedly discover areas that interest you and merit further
exploration. The Sets are so complicated and Mandelbrot Magic can
zoom in so close that in all probability, you'll soon be looking at a
part of the set that literally no one else has discovered. However,
here are some parameters for interesting areas to explore.
Depending upon how you obtained Mandelbrot Magic, slide files for all
or some of these combinations of parameters may be included with the
program. Many of the slides have been started but are not complete.
To complete a slide, enter its name, press F9 to load the file, then
press F8 to complete the slide. The actual parameters for a specific
slide may vary from those listed below because of Mandelbrot Magic's
automatic centering algorithms.
Most of the slide files distributed with the program are for EGA
adapters/modes. To create slides for different graphics modes, load
the appropriate file, give the file a new name, change the
appropriate parameters, then press F8 to create a new slide.
MANDELBROT SETS
The first set of parameters will display the entire Mandelbrot Set.
Name X (Minimum) X (Maximum) Y (Maximum) Y (Minimum)
=====================================================================
M1.PIC -2.00000000 0.50000000 1.25000000 -1.25000000
M2.PIC -0.25000000 0.05000000 1.10000000 0.80000000
M3.PIC -0.17500000 -0.14500000 1.05000000 1.02000000
M4.PIC -1.25800000 -1.24850000 0.03000000 0.02050000
M5.PIC -0.95000000 -0.88333000 0.30000000 0.23333000
M6.PIC -0.71300000 -0.40820000 0.71429000 0.40949000
M7.PIC -0.75104000 -0.74080000 0.11536000 0.10511000
M8.PIC -0.74553800 -0.74505400 0.11323600 0.11275200
M9.PIC -0.74543560 -0.74542150 0.11301390 0.11299980
M10.PIC -1.25402400 -1.25286100 0.04712500 0.04596200
25
JULIA SETS
This list shows the C values for interesting Julia Sets. To display
an entire set, use the following values for X and Y. To enter these
values automatically, highlight the Type of Slide field and press F2.
X Y
---- -----
Minimum: -2.0 -1.50
Maximum: 2.0 1.5
C VALUES
----------------------------
Name X Y
=======================================
J1.PIC 0.27334000 0.00742000
J2.PIC -1.25000000 0.00000000
J3.PIC -0.11000000 0.65570000
J4.PIC 0.11031000 -0.67037000
J5.PIC -0.19400000 0.65570000
J6.PIC -0.15652000 1.03225000
J7.PIC -0.74543000 0.11301000
J8.PIC 0.32000000 0.04300000
J9.PIC -0.12375000 0.56508000
J10.PIC -0.39054000 0.58679000
J11.PIC -0.11000000 0.67000000
26
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Left Coast provides free technical support for Mandelbrot Magic. If
you require technical support, please call us at (408) 996-3130
between 9:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. Pacific time (12:00 Noon to 8:00 P.M.
Eastern time). You may also write us at:
Left Coast Software
P.O. Box 160601
Cupertino, CA 95016-0601
You may also send us a message on CompuServe (71160,756). It may
take us a several days to respond to CompuServe messages.
You may obtain the most recent version of the program from
CompuServe, the Source, or GEnie. New versions are uploaded to these
services almost immediately after their release.
The next major change to Mandelbrot Magic is not scheduled until
early 1990. The major anticipated change in the program will be
support for the Super VGA mode (assuming it does become a standard)
and other extended EGA and VGA modes.
We thank you for supporting Mandelbrot Magic. If you have suggestions
for how to improve the program, please write us. We love hearing
from our customers.
27
OTHER LEFT COAST PROGRAMS
Left Coast Software sells other two popular programs for the PC --
Exchequer and PC-Areacode. We also distribute copies of BackMAGIC to
registered users of Mandelbrot Magic. To order any Left Coast
product, call 408-996-3130 or use the order form on the next page.
We accept VISA and MasterCard.
EXCHEQUER (Version 2.05)
Exchequer is an easy-to-use check writing and checkbook management
program for IBM PC-compatible computers. It is designed primarily
for home users and small businesses wishing to automate and simplify
the process of paying their bills. In addition, it provides a number
of reporting options. For example, it allows the user to sort and
print checkbook data by category or by payee.
Exchequer provides the following features and functions:
* Exchequer can pay all of your regular monthly bills with as few as
two keystrokes!
* Exchequer's check register looks and works just like a regular
checkbook register.
* Exchequer makes balancing your checkbook easy by automatically
finding all uncleared checks and deposits.
* Exchequer works with virtually all types of continuous-feed
checks. The user has complete control over the check layout.
* Exchequer supports an unlimited number of accounts.
* Exchequer's check register can store over 4000 transactions. An
archiving function saves the oldest transactions to a separate
file (e.g. at year's end), thus making room for more transactions.
* Exchequer can memorize all up to 255 predefined transactions
(checks, withdrawals, deposits, service charges, etc.) These
transactions can be easily recalled and used when paying bills.
* Exchequer can assign a transaction to 255 user-defined categories.
Reporting functions allow the user to sort the check register by
category, making tax preparation a breeze!
* Exchequer can split any transaction amount up to 10 ways and
assign it to separate categories.
* Exchequer offers a wide variety of reports which facilitate record
keeping and expense analysis. Reports can be sent to the printer,
the screen or to a file.
28
Exchequer runs on any IBM PC, XT, AT or PS/2 compatible computer
running MS-DOS or PC-DOS Version 2.0 or higher. It works with any
graphics adapter. Exchequer requires approximately 200 K of
available memory (after installation of any memory-resident
programs). Exchequer can be operated quite easily with just one
floppy-disk drive. The program will work with any printer which
handles continuous-feed checks.
Exchequer is just $49.95 plus $3.00 shipping and handling.
California residents please add sales tax.
PC-AREACODE
PC-Areacode is a useful utility program which can find the areacode
for virtually any city in the U.S. and Canada in less than two
seconds on a 4.77 Mhz PC and a floppy drive. It contains almost
15,000 city names in its built-in database. You can either browse
through the cities in its database or type in the name of a city you
want to locate. You can even type in an areacode and PC-Areacode
will tell you what state it serves. PC-Areacode can run as either a
standalone program or as a memory-resident utility.
PC-Areacode runs on any IBM PC, XT, AT or PS/2 compatible computer
running DOS 2.0 or higher. PC-Areacode is just $49.95 plus $3.00
shipping and handling. California residents please add sales tax.
BackMAGIC
BackMAGIC is a memory resident program which can be used to calculate
fractal images for viewing with Mandelbrot Magic in the background
while you run other programs on your computer. BackMAGIC solves the
major problem encountered when exploring the Mandelbrot and Julia
Sets -- the long calculation times required to generate images.
BackMAGIC is compatible with virtually all other standalone and
memory resident programs.
Unlike Mandelbrot Magic, BackMAGIC does not require a specific
graphics adapter. BackMAGIC will work with any video adapter,
including all monochrome adapters. Thus, you can generate slides on
virtually any machine for later viewing on the machine of your
choice.
BackMAGIC is a complementary program to Mandelbrot Magic and you must
have a copy of Mandelbrot Magic to use BackMAGIC. Although
Mandelbrot Magic is a shareware program, BackMAGIC is not a shareware
program. The only way to get a legal copy of BackMAGIC is to
register as a user of Mandelbrot Magic.
29
ORDER/REGISTRATION FORM
If you want to register for Mandelbrot Magic, simply order the appro-
priate number of copies of the program. You may also order/register
by phone by calling (408) 996-3130.
Ship to: Bill to (if different):
_________________________ ___________________________
_________________________ ___________________________
_________________________ ___________________________
_________________________ ___________________________
Payment Method (please circle one): VISA MC Check COD
Credit Card Number:_________________ Expiration Date: _______
Name on card (if different): ____________________________________
Signature (if using credit card): _______________________________
PLEASE SHIP ME THE FOLLOWING:
_____ copies of Mandelbrot Magic at $15.00 = ____________________
(includes BackMAGIC)
_____ copies of Exchequer at $49.95 = ____________________
_____ copies of PC-Areacode at $49.95 = ____________________
California Residents Add Sales Tax = ____________________________
Shipping/Handling (per order) 3.00
Add $11.00 for Federal Express ____________________________
TOTAL: ____________________________
Send form to:
Left Coast Software
P.O. Box 160601
Cupertino, CA 95016-0601
30
COMMAND SUMMARY
Commands available at the Control Panel level are flush left.
Available sub-commands for each major command are indented.
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| F1 Selects a ZOOM area (or C Value). |
| |
| Arrow Keys Move the cursor/corner 1 pixel. |
| |
| Shift-Arrow Keys Move the cursor/corner 20 pixels. |
| |
| <Return> Sets current location as corner of |
| zoom box. |
| |
| <Esc> Cancels the zoom function. |
| |
| Home When the crosshair cursor is |
| End displayed, these keys move the cursor |
| PgUp to the corresponding corner of the |
| PgDn slide (e.g. Home moves to upper-left |
| corner). When a zoom box is |
| displayed, these keys make the |
| corresponding corner of the zoom box |
| the "active" corner. |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| F2 CALCULATES parameters |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| F3 CREATES (or edits) a slideshow file |
| |
| Arrow Keys Move cursor one column or row. |
| |
| Home Moves cursor to upper lefthand field. |
| |
| End Moves cursor to lower righthand field. |
| |
| PgUp Moves cursor to top row of column. |
| |
| PgDn Moves cursor to bottom row of column. |
| |
| <Return> Advances cursor. |
| |
| <Backspace> Deletes last character in data field. |
| |
| <Esc> Saves the slideshow file. |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
31
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| F4 PRESENTS an existing slideshow file. |
| |
| All display commands are active. |
| |
| Alt-Q Cancels the slideshow and returns to |
| Control Panel. |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| F5 Activates COLORS Window |
| |
| Left Arrow Move the arrow one space left. |
| |
| Right Arrow Moves the arrow one space right. |
| |
| Home Moves the arrow to far left edge. |
| |
| End Moves the arrow to far right edge. |
| |
| Up Arrow Increases the color number of current |
| <Return> pixel value by 1. |
| <Space>,'+' |
| |
| Down Arrow Decreases the color number of current |
| - pixel value by 1. |
| |
| Ctrl-Right Drags the current color to the right. |
| |
| Ctrl-Left Drags the current color to the left. |
| |
| F6 Activates Palette Window. |
| |
| <Esc> Closes the Colors Window. |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| F6 Activates PALETTE Window |
| |
| Left Arrow Moves the arrow one block left. |
| |
| Right Arrow Moves the arrow one block right. |
| |
| Home Moves the arrow to the first color. |
| |
| End Moves the arrow to the last color. |
| |
| Up Arrow Increments the current color by 1. |
| <Return> |
| <Space>,'+' |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
32
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| F6 (continued) |
| |
| PgUp Increments the current color by 8. |
| |
| Down Arrow Decrements the current color by 1. |
| - |
| |
| PgDn Decrements the current color by 8. |
| |
| P,p Cycles through predefined Palettes. |
| |
| F5 Actives COLORS Window. |
| |
| <Esc> Closes PALETTE Window. |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| F7 ANIMATES an existing slide |
| |
| Up Arrow Animates the slide in up direction. |
| |
| Down Arrow Animates the slide in down direction. |
| |
| + Increases the delay between displays. |
| |
| - Decreases the delay between displays. |
| |
| <Esc> Stops the animation. |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| F8 CREATES a new slide |
| |
| <Esc> Cancels slide generation process. |
| |
| Alt-F8 CREATES a new slide using the Grid |
| Method. |
| |
| <Esc> Cancels the Grid Method. |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| F9 LOADS an existing slide |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
33
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| F10 DISPLAYS an existing slide |
| |
| F1 Activates ZOOM function. |
| |
| F5 Activates COLORS Window. |
| |
| F6 Activates PALETTE Window. |
| |
| F7 Animates the slide. |
| |
| F10 Redisplays using Equal Areas mode. |
| |
| Ctrl-F10 Redisplays using Cyclic mode. |
| |
| Shift-F10 Redisplays using Sectional mode. |
| |
| Alt-F10 Redisplays using Assigned mode. |
| |
| Alt-N Pops up input window to change |
| Number of Color Regions. |
| |
| P or p Cycles through predefined palettes. |
| |
| Home Restores the default palette. |
| |
| End Generates random palette. |
| |
| Up Rotates the palette upward. |
| |
| Down Rotates the palette downward. |
| |
| PgUp Continuously rotates palette upward. |
| |
| PgDn Continuously rotates palette downward. |
| |
| + Increases the delay between |
| successive rotations of palette. |
| |
| - Decreases the delay between |
| successive rotations of palette. |
| |
| <Esc> Cancels the display and returns to |
| Control Panel. |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| <Esc> Exits Mandelbrot Magic and returns to |
| DOS. |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
34
35
Directory of PC-SIG Library Disk #0841
Volume in drive A has no label
Directory of A:\
CHANGES !!! 12747 5-30-89 12:36p
GO BAT 38 7-08-87 12:19a
J1 PIC 1260 5-30-89 12:36p
J1_CGA PIC 1260 5-30-89 12:36p
J2 PIC 1260 5-30-89 12:36p
J3 PIC 1260 5-30-89 12:36p
J4 PIC 1260 5-30-89 12:36p
J5 PIC 1260 5-30-89 12:36p
J5_CGA PIC 1260 5-30-89 12:36p
M1_CGA PIC 13974 5-30-89 12:36p
M1_EGA PIC 32016 5-30-89 12:36p
M2 PIC 1260 5-30-89 12:36p
M3 PIC 1260 5-30-89 12:36p
M4 PIC 1260 5-30-89 12:36p
M7 PIC 1260 5-30-89 12:36p
MM DOC 104594 5-30-89 12:36p
MM EXE 100224 5-30-89 12:36p
PRINTDOC BAT 527 5-30-89 12:36p
FILE0841 TXT 1443 7-14-89 10:54a
GO TXT 617 1-04-80 12:24a
20 file(s) 280040 bytes
28672 bytes free