Skip to content

Mandelbrot Set Explorer

This is a project that began in 2006 when I wanted to learn the Dyalog APL's GUI framework. For more information on its evolution see history.

Quick Start

You'll need Dyalog APL for Windows 64-bit preferably the Unicode version, but Classic will work as well. Dyalog APL is free for non-commercial use - see Download Zone.

  • Do one or more of the following:
  • Clone the https://github.com/bpbecker/mandelbrot repository
  • Download and unzip the latest release
  • Download and unzip mandelbrot.zip from the assets of the latest release
  • Start Dyalog APL for Windows, preferably a 64-bit Unicode version
  • Import the explorer, depending on which option you chose above, the explorer code will be in the /source folder of the repository, or in the folder you unzipped mandelbrot.zip into
  • ]import # {folder}
  • Start the explorer by entering Run

Alternatively, you can start the explorer from the command line by running:
dyalog LOAD={folder}

Mandelbrot set explorer

Exploring the Mandelbrot set

The explorer has a fixed 4:3 aspect ratio. You can zoom in and explore the set in any of three ways:

  • Click and hold your left mouse button and drag the mouse. This will draw a rectangle of the area to zoom in on. Release the mouse button and the new image will be drawn.
  • Right-click to zoom with the center of the new image is where the mouse icon points. The zoom level is controlled by the Zoom Level field in the upper-right corner of the screen.
  • Enter Top, Bottom, and Left values in their respective fields and then click the Draw button.