Sterling is a

fractal In mathematics, a fractal is a geometric shape containing detailed structure at arbitrarily small scales, usually having a fractal dimension strictly exceeding the topological dimension. Many fractals appear similar at various scales, as il ...

-generating

computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes documentation and other intangible components. A computer progra ...

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

freeware Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for t ...

but is not free now. Sterling2 is a freeware version of Sterling with different

algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specifications for performing ...

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. Sterling has a simple

GUI The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

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

JPEG JPEG ( ) is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography. The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and im ...

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

anti-aliasing Anti-aliasing may refer to any of a number of techniques to combat the problems of aliasing in a sampled signal such as a digital image or digital audio recording. Specific topics in anti-aliasing include: * Anti-aliasing filter, a filter used ...

. 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, Zips or ZIP may refer to: Common uses * ZIP Code, USPS postal code * Zipper or zip, clothing fastener Science and technology Computing * ZIP (file format), a compressed archive file format ** zip, a command-line program from Info-ZIP * Zi ...

file (436 KB) contains brief instructions. There is no installation — it is enough to put the executable and

dynamic-link library Dynamic-link library (DLL) is Microsoft's implementation of the shared library concept in the Microsoft Windows and OS/2 operating systems. These libraries usually have the file extension DLL, OCX (for libraries containing ActiveX controls) ...

files in the same directory and start the exe file. In 2018, the original code for sterling was released under the GPLv

Sample images

Image:Fractal Sentinel SterlingW3165.jpg Image:Fractal tower Sterling2 1837.jpg Image:Fractal red flare Sterling2 2831.jpg Image:Sterling2 4728aa.jpg Image:Baroque bug fractal SterlingW2589.jpg Image:Sterling2 4906aa4.jpg

References

External links

* Sterling2 (freeware) home pag

including download, instructions and sample images. {{Computer science C (programming language) software Graphics software Fractal software 1999 software