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https://github.com/paulosalem/open_field_flow

An open-source particle system simulator in which particles flow through and interact with a vector field.
https://github.com/paulosalem/open_field_flow

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An open-source particle system simulator in which particles flow through and interact with a vector field.

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README 

        
Open Field Flow

===============



Open Field Flow is a work of abstract art. More precisely, it is a particle system simulator in 

which particles flow through and interact with a vector field. This results in visually interesting patterns.

It is also possible to interact with the vector field, thereby altering the observed flow and engaging the user.



Both the source files and the binaries are provided.  For convenience, a whole NetBeans project

was pushed to GitHub, not only the source program. However, if all you want is to run the software, 

follow the instructions below (Usage section).



Although this implementation is completely  original, the artistic concept behind it is not. In fact, 

this software was built (from scratch) with the purpose of reproducing the main conceptual aspects of the work of art 

named "pixflow #2", whose author is [LAb\[au\]] (http://lab-au.com/). However, this is done independently and has 

no relationship whatsoever with pixflow #2 other than being inspired by it (more about this below).



Usage

-----



Open Field Flow is implemented in Java. Thus, you need the Java Runtime Environment to run it, which can be 

obtained here: 



   http://www.java.com/



Once Java is installed, there are two methods to run the software: (i) directly from your browser; or (ii) downloading to your 

computer first.



### Method 1: from the browser



Open Field Flow is packaged to support the Java Web Start technology, which allows one to run full Java programs

(not just applets) right from the browser. You can find a demonstration installation at the following URL: 



http://www.paulosalem.com/openfieldflow/launch.html



Just go there and click on launch.



### Method 2: download first



Download the file `open_field_flow_v1.0.0.zip` found in the list above (the other files in the list only matter 

for programmers, so you may ignore them if you just want to run the software). 

It contains the binary distribution for executing the program. Unzip it somewhere and open a command-line in 

that folder. You may then run the program by issuing the following command:



  ```shell

    java -jar Open_Field_Flow.jar  -Dsun.java2d.opengl=True

  ```

  

The last option activates graphics hardware acceleration, which improves performance.



Once the program is started, a window will offer a number of options. You may or may not change the default values. 

After that, just press "run simulation" and you should get a fullscreen simulation. To exit the simulation and go 

back to the initial window, just press the Esc key.



Note: On Ubuntu (and possibly other Gnome-based interfaces) some Gnome elements remain visible even on fullscreen.

This is an unsolved bug (on Open Field Flow, Java or Gnome). On Windows 7 (and possibly other versions) 

there is no equivalent problem.



Rationale

----------



I (Paulo Salem) saw pixflow #2 at an art exhibition in São Paulo (Brazil) some years ago and liked the idea so much that I 

soon decided to re-implement at least part of it, for my own personal pleasure. This software is therefore 

primarily intended as an independent, open-source and customized re-implementation of (as well as a tribute to) 

pixflow #2.



Initially, my objective was to create a particle systems engine on which to build different kinds 

of simulations, thus making my version of pixflow merely a special case of a more general tool. However, it is not easy

to come up with interesting artistic concepts. Since I have had very little time to work on this, a condition likely

to remain true for the foreseeable future, I recently decided to release the software as it currently is -- which is, essentially,

my version of pixflow. In this manner, some good is done to the world, though not to my artistic career. 

Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that:



  * Open Field Flow contains features which I did not see in pixflow, such as user interaction and customization of vector field 

    parameters. These might be original contributions to the underlying concept, but I don't know, since I have no access

    to pixflow's implementation (I just saw the resulting animation at the exhibition).

  * Owing to my original objective, the implementation is quite modular and easily extensible. Particles and vectors,

    for example, are just sub-classes of a more general agent. In fact, I did a number of experiments in this manner,

    but since they were all conceptually half-baked, I did not include them in this release. The hard part

    isn't _how_ to implement, but _what_ to implement.



In order to promote its dissemination and growth, the software is released as open-source, under the GPL 3 license 

(see below). I have opted for the GPL because I feel this particular project ought to remain free. It would be a shame 

to allow it to be closed, since I have created it specifically to make a fine idea (but with a locked down and 

apparently inacessible implementation) available to me and others.



Contributing

------------

  

As mentioned in the above section, the only reason this software is limited to one kind of simulation is

that the author has no time to build more. In particular, a decent technical foundation is in place

to be used. If you feel like contributing with new kinds of simulations, please feel encouraged to do

so! Other contributions are of course welcomed as well. 



Open Field Flow is implemented in Java 6. Moreover, the NetBeans 7.2 IDE was used to create the GUI, 

so you may consider using it to make your life easier. For further convenience (and perhaps to the detriment of elegance), 

I have pushed the whole NetBeans project to GitHub, not only the source. So all you have to do is to 

download everything and then import the project in NetBeans.



Disclaimer

---------



Neither this software nor its author has any relationship with [LAb\[au\]] (http://lab-au.com/)

or pixflow #2.



License

-------



Open Field Flow - A particle system simulator in which particles 

flow through  and interact with a vector field.

 

Copyright (C) 2012  Paulo Salem ([email protected])



 

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify

it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 3 

as published by the Free Software Foundation.



This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,

but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of

MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the

GNU General Public License for more details.



You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License

along with this program.  If not, see .