just brew it! wrote:I'll try and get my Mandelbrot code cleaned up. There are a couple of features I've been meaning to add, and other annoying "features" I'd like to fix.
The UI is written in Python, but the calculation grunt work is done in C to take advantage of the full speed of the CPU and use all available cores (Mandelbrot rendering is a very good candidate for multi-threading, since the calculation at each point is independent). It does both Mandelbort and the corresponding Julia sets, and you can navigate around the sets by clicking with the mouse...
That sounds great! Let me know when you get the time to clean it up
irvinenomore wrote:Am currently using PYTHON FOR SOFTWARE DESIGN - How to Think Like a Computer Scientist by Allen Downey to learn basic Python. Chapter 4 focuses on a turtle type drawing program that's downloadable to teach function interface design. The whole focus of the book is about how to solve problems in a structured fashion rather than use neat new programming features so it may suit your needs a bit more than the typical source.
Thanks! I have heard good things about this book before! Will look into it.
SecretSquirrel wrote:So the question is "Why is she interested?"
Unless you are a hardcore nerd, the language is simply a means to an end, a way to make a computer do something. What is she interested in making the computer do? Or, is it the thought of bending a computer to her will and making it do anything?
In her case, she is mostly interested in the computer as a creative medium. Fractals definitely draw her interest. Partly its also just curiosity.
Certainly, I will try and clarify this a bit more and might need to experiment a bit.
Not sure she knows herself what exactly she is interested in
Arduino I am not too sure about right now as I am sort of out-of-cash to buy stuff right now (underpaid grad student here) so trying to keep it to things I already have or to free software and books from the library
cheesyking wrote:What about javascript? I know it's a bit of a toy language, is ugly and perhaps a bit counter intuitive and really requires learning a bit of HTML too but it would allow her do dive right in to writing something that looks like something she might encounter in day to day life. This also has the advantage that she only needs a text editor and a web browser.
Well, unfortunately my knowledge of HTML and JS is a bit underwhelming. Will look into it though. As for installation, I can just install stuff myself on her laptop, so that is not a problem as long as it is easy to use after installation.