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Mandelbulber VS OpenFrameworks

Compare Mandelbulber VS OpenFrameworks and see what are their differences

Mandelbulber logo Mandelbulber

A 3D fractal renderer.

OpenFrameworks logo OpenFrameworks

openFrameworks
  • Mandelbulber Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-09-05
  • OpenFrameworks Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-30

Mandelbulber features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

OpenFrameworks features and specs

  • Open Source
    OpenFrameworks is open-source, allowing developers to access, modify, and contribute to its codebase. This fosters a community-driven development environment and encourages collaboration.
  • Cross-Platform
    It supports multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, making it versatile for developing applications across various operating systems.
  • Rich Collection of Add-ons
    OpenFrameworks offers a wide range of add-ons and libraries contributed by the community, which extend the framework's capabilities and provide tools for graphics, sound, video, computer vision, and more.
  • Community Support
    The framework has a robust community that provides support via forums, tutorials, and a wealth of shared projects and code snippets, making it easier to learn and troubleshoot.
  • Artistic and Creative Focus
    OpenFrameworks is particularly well-suited for projects that emphasize creativity and artistic output, making it popular among artists and designers working on interactive installations and media art.

Possible disadvantages of OpenFrameworks

  • Steep Learning Curve
    While OpenFrameworks is powerful, its complexity can be daunting for beginners, especially those without experience in C++ programming.
  • Limited Documentation
    Although there is community support, the official documentation can sometimes be sparse or outdated, which can pose challenges for developers seeking detailed explanations or examples.
  • Performance Overhead
    As an abstraction layer over native OpenGL, OpenFrameworks might introduce performance overhead compared to writing raw OpenGL code, which can be a concern for high-performance applications.
  • Dependency Management
    Managing dependencies and ensuring compatibility across different platforms can be complex, especially when dealing with various libraries and add-ons.
  • Not Ideal for All Types of Applications
    OpenFrameworks is tailored towards creative coding and may not be the best choice for applications that require extensive GUI features or are more business-logic-oriented.

Analysis of OpenFrameworks

Overall verdict

  • OpenFrameworks is considered a good choice for those looking to explore creative coding due to its combination of versatility, performance, and community support. Its open-source nature and cross-platform capabilities make it an attractive option for both beginners and experienced developers in the field.

Why this product is good

  • OpenFrameworks is widely regarded as a solid toolkit for creative coding. It provides a comprehensive set of tools and functionalities aimed at artists, designers, and developers who seek to create interactive applications, visuals, and installations. The framework is built on top of C++ and offers extensive support for multimedia operations, making it suitable for graphics rendering, audio processing, and computer vision tasks. Additionally, OpenFrameworks benefits from an active community that contributes to a rich ecosystem of addons and shared projects, providing a collaborative environment for learning and experimentation.

Recommended for

  • Artists and designers looking to create interactive installations.
  • Developers interested in multimedia applications and simulations.
  • Educators teaching creative coding or multimedia art courses.
  • Hobbyists wanting to experiment with graphics and audio processing.

Mandelbulber videos

Mandelbulber Tutorial: Quick Start Guide

More videos:

  • Review - High bitrate 4K Mandelbulber n Lofi Hiphop.
  • Review - Mandelbulber Fractal and Color Music Uplifting Trance Universe Show -part2

OpenFrameworks videos

Part 2 of GAFFTA OpenFrameworks for Processing Coders

More videos:

  • Tutorial - openFrameworks tutorial - 000 intro to openFrameworks
  • Review - [openframeworks] Box2d study - Burst -

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Mandelbulber and OpenFrameworks)
3D
16 16%
84% 84
Interactive Presentations
VJ
11 11%
89% 89
Interactive Exhibits
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, OpenFrameworks seems to be a lot more popular than Mandelbulber. While we know about 32 links to OpenFrameworks, we've tracked only 2 mentions of Mandelbulber. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Mandelbulber mentions (2)

  • Does anyone know if there are any bases with this texture out there? I wasn‘t able to find any files and it doesn‘t look like it would be super hard to recreate and print
    You could also go straight to 3d with a 3d fractal render and export the 3d model https://mandelbulber.com/ that's how I made these https://www.thingiverse.com/bennnnnn6/designs. For a bismuth effect you would want to start with a Mandelbox or a Menger sponge. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • A track I made using the following: Nord Lead 3, Korg MS-20, Sequential Circuits Six-Trak, Access Virus, Roland Juno-106 and Dave Smith Evolver. FX: Strymon BigSky and Timeline. Hope you like it.
    I used a free fractal software https://mandelbulber.com/ to generate the animation. Then iMovie for the final rendering/tweaking. Thank you so much for the appreciation. Source: about 4 years ago

OpenFrameworks mentions (32)

  • Ask HN: Who Are Your Favorite Photography and Generative Coding Artists?
    Zach Lieberman https://x.com/zachlieberman does his work in C++ with https://openframeworks.cc/. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Resolume
    Not exactly VJ, but could be used for it. https://openframeworks.cc. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • VVVV – A Hybrid Visual/Textual Development Environment
    - openFrameworks https://openframeworks.cc/ C++. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Valve Says Counter-Strike 2 for macOS Not Happening, There Aren't Enough Players
    Vulkan is sort of a post-API API. It seems to be designed specifically with high performance render pipelines in mind, and "end users" should interface with it through an intermediary layer. Ie, you might prefer bgfx[0], cinder[1] or openframeworks[2]. 0: https://github.com/bkaradzic/bgfx 2: https://openframeworks.cc/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • I'm starting to get tired
    Since you have C# experience, take this time to learn more about C++ while you continue to look. While yes, it is very easy to write bad code, it's not a huge deal since you just graduated and are just hacking around. Plus there are a lot of helpers these days to make writing bad code a little less likely.A former mentor of mine gifted me "C++ Without Fear" by Brian Overland which I can recommend. It's not too... Source: about 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Mandelbulber and OpenFrameworks, you can also consider the following products

Mandelbulb 3D - Mandelbulb 3D is a free software application created for 3D fractal imaging.

Processing - C++ and Java programming at the speed of thought.

Structure Synth - Structure Synth is a tool for creating 3D structures from a set of user specified rules.

TouchDesigner - TouchDesigner is a visual development platform that equips you with the tools you need to create stunning realtime projects and rich user experiences.

Vvvv - vvvv is a graphical programming environment for easy prototyping and development.

Blender - Blender is the open source, cross platform suite of tools for 3D creation.