A fractal is a geometric figure that is self-similar: zooming into a piece of it reveals a copy of the whole. Fractals show up in mathematics, physics, computer graphics and even biology (coastlines, ferns, snowflakes).
This directory collects small, self-contained fractal generators. They fall into two groups:
- Visual demos that open a window (via
turtle) or produce an image (viamatplotlib/PIL). Run these directly to see the picture. - Pure-computation generators whose output can be checked with
doctest, so they run in CI without a display.
| File | Fractal | Output | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
barnsley_fern.py |
Barnsley fern | matplotlib (optional) | Iterated function system; deterministic with a seed |
julia_sets.py |
Julia sets | matplotlib | Complex-plane escape-time fractal |
koch_snowflake.py |
Koch snowflake | matplotlib | Line-segment subdivision |
mandelbrot.py |
Mandelbrot set | PIL image | Complex-plane escape-time fractal |
sierpinski_carpet.py |
Sierpinski carpet | text | Integer arithmetic, fully doctested |
sierpinski_triangle.py |
Sierpinski triangle | turtle | Recursive midpoint subdivision |
vicsek.py |
Vicsek fractal | turtle | Recursive cross pattern |
# text fractal – prints to the terminal python fractals/sierpinski_carpet.py # image fractal – opens a matplotlib window (needs matplotlib) python fractals/barnsley_fern.py # turtle fractal – opens a drawing window (needs a display) python fractals/vicsek.py
- Benoit B. Mandelbrot, The Fractal Geometry of Nature (1982)
- Michael Barnsley, Fractals Everywhere (1988)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal