Sterling is a fractal

Fractal

A fractal has been defined as "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole," a property called self-similarity...

-generating computer program

Computer program

A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...

 written in the C

C (programming language)

C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....

 programming language in 1999 for Microsoft Windows by Stephen C. Ferguson. Sterling was initially released as freeware

Freeware

Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...

 but currently a $35 fee is required to download it from Ferguson's site. Sterling2 is a freeware version of Sterling with different algorithm

Algorithm

In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...

s. It was released in September 2008 by Tad Boniecki. Apart from the name (which shows as sterlingwar2 in the title bar and on the About screen), the program looks just like the original Sterling. The only internals that are different are the 50 formulae for fractal generation. Parameter files made by Sterling can be used in Sterling2 and vice versa, though they will draw different images.

Sterling is based on the notion that one way to generate interesting fractal images is by using elaborate color filters and shading. In many images, the main interest lies in the filters rather than the actual fractal boundaries themselves, as in traditional fractal-generating programs. The fractal merely serves as a seeding function to the coloring algorithms and filters. A feature of Sterling is the richness of the renders

Rendering (computer graphics)

Rendering is the process of generating an image from a model , by means of computer programs. A scene file contains objects in a strictly defined language or data structure; it would contain geometry, viewpoint, texture, lighting, and shading information as a description of the virtual scene...

.

Sterling has a simple GUI

Gui

Gui or guee is a generic term to refer to grilled dishes in Korean cuisine. These most commonly have meat or fish as their primary ingredient, but may in some cases also comprise grilled vegetables or other vegetarian ingredients. The term derives from the verb, "gupda" in Korean, which literally...

 interface with a limited number of functions. The program saves files as JPEG

JPEG

In computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....

, BMP or one of six other formats. It draws in Julia mode, allows inside-out rendering and does anti-aliasing

Anti-aliasing

In digital signal processing, spatial anti-aliasing is the technique of minimizing the distortion artifacts known as aliasing when representing a high-resolution image at a lower resolution...

. It offers 32 different renders and four transform effects. There are three independent color controls and two ways to zoom into an image.

The Sterling2 ZIP

ZIP (file format)

Zip is a file format used for data compression and archiving. A zip file contains one or more files that have been compressed, to reduce file size, or stored as is...

 file (436 kb) contains brief instructions. There is no installation — it is enough to put the executable and dynamic-link library

Dynamic-link library

Dynamic-link library , or DLL, is Microsoft's implementation of the shared library concept in the Microsoft Windows and OS/2 operating systems...

 files in the same directory and start the exe file.

See also

• Fractal-generating software
• Fractal art
  Fractal art
  Fractal art is a form of algorithmic art created by calculating fractal objects and representing the calculation results as still images, animations, and media. Fractal art developed from the mid 1980s onwards. It is a genre of computer art and digital art which are part of new media art...
  
  
• Fractint
  Fractint
  FractInt is a freeware program that can render and display many kinds of fractals.-Name:Its name comes from the words fractal and integer, since the first versions of it computed fractals by using only integer arithmetic , which led to much faster rendering on x86 computers without math coprocessors...
  
  
• Ultrafractal
• Apophysis

External links

• Sterling (shareware) home page http://www.ktaza.com/fractal/
• Sterling2 (freeware) home page http://soler7.com/Fractals/Sterling2.html: including download, instructions and sample images.