Project Status

As of this writing, MMJ! should be considered no longer in development. This means that while I greatly enjoy working on this wonderful waste of time, alas there is no more time to waste. While MMJ! 4.0 is very functional and largely complete, there are a number of things that I was never able to finish, and unfortunately there may be a few bugs. However, since I have no more time to devote to finishing/fixing these issues, I present them to you as-is. As this program is being released through a GPL license, feel free to pick apart the source code (which is available with all binary distributions) and make it better. The code is sloppy, so don't expect perfection. However, if you do make significant improvements, let me know and I may dust off enough cobwebs to make your changes part of an official release.

MMJ! 4.0 includes PNGEncoder written by J. David Eisenberg. Version 3.1 includes GIFEncoder written by Adam Doppelt.

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System Requirements

• A windowing operating system, such as Windows 9x/NT/2000/XP, UNIX/X Windows, or Mac OS, that is supported by a Java implementation
• A Java 1.1 or higher runtime environment or development kit that allows you to run Java applications from a command line (or similar invocation)
• A mouse or similar pointer device
• Approximately 600kb of disk space
• Display capable of 256 colors or higher (higher strongly recommended)

It is assumed that your system must meet the system requirements set forth by the operating system and Java implementation.

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Features

• Simple point-and-click interface similar to many "windows" programs
• Full control of input parameters through easy to use dialog box control
• Amazing color palette control: choose from two built-in palettes, creating a custom color scale, or loading palettes from a standard JASC-PAL (".PAL") file
• "Rerender" function lets you rebuild the current image (the same input parameters) and adjust for size, color palette, and resolution without having to reenter boundary values
• Derivation ("zoom") feature lets you "zoom" in to virtually any depth with a simple drag of the mouse
• Images save to standard PNG image format
• Save image parameters to a program-specific parameter file which, combined with a saved palette, can be shared with friends and can be used to quickly reproduce the given image exactly
• Compressed "MOB" file format combines parameters and palettes into one file; command-line utilities also available from GUI Command menu
• New Java 1.1 features, such as printing, copying between applications, and context menus
• Now includes Julia set derivation, including "zoom" support
• Several exciting preset views for beginners, including some not available in the Win32 version!
• Command-line "batch" mode for processing multiple parameter files without using the graphical user interface
• Backward compatibility with previous versions: convert 3.x-4.x parameter files to 2.x parameter files
• New for Version 4.0:
  • Detailed customization, including user-defined directories for parameter, palette, and image files, "look and feels," toolbars, etc. It even remembers the last set of parameters you used.
  • New Render toolbar keeps your parameters constantly visible and accessable.
  • Java MDI keeps all your image windows inside the MMJ! application, so they don't clutter up system resources (like the Windows Task Bar).
  • The ability to load palettes from MOB files as well as PAL files.
  • Fully integrated online help system(!)
  • Replaced patent-problematic GIF image saves with friendly PNG image formats.

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Version History

• Version 1.0: Initial version. Applet/application combination (can be used as an applet in a web page or run as an application in a Java virtual machine).
• Version 1.1: Bug fix. v1.0 would lose the rendered image if the window as covered by another window (or the browser was minimized); this was corrected.
• Version 2.0: Totally new version. Java application only. Has parameter, palette, and image file support, zooming, and Julia set derivation.
• Version 2.1: Addition of batch mode; fix to Select Color Dialog to correct error in maximum bound (255) of color values.
• Version 3.0: Lots of new changes:
  • Better object oriented design.
  • Julia set zooming support.
  • New .MMJ file format.
  • To Front menu under the Window in main dialog.
  • Choose Palette and Render items added to main dialog File menu.
  • New menu shortcut keys for virtually all menu items.
  • Better window positioning.
• Version 3.1: Introduction of .MOB file format (combines parameter and palette files into one compressed file) and Command menu (has most command-line utilities now available from the GUI)
• Version 4.0:
  • Detailed customization, including user-defined directories for parameter, palette, and image files, "look and feels," toolbars, etc. It even remembers the last set of parameters you used.
  • New Render toolbar keeps your parameters constantly visible and accessable.
  • Java MDI keeps all your image windows inside the MMJ! application, so they don't clutter up system resources (like the Windows Task Bar).
  • The ability to load palettes from MOB files as well as PAL files.
  • Fully integrated online help system(!)
  • Replaced patent-problematic GIF image saves with friendly PNG image formats.

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Download Mandelbrot Madness JAVA!

You can download the current version of Mandelbrot Madness JAVA! from the follwing links:

Version 4.0:

• Win32 installer binary distribution, version 4.0 (705 KB), which includes the PaletteBuilder v1.2 helper application and source code (GnuPG signature)
• Platform-independent binary distribution, version 4.0 (372 KB), which includes the PaletteBuilder v1.2 helper application and source code(GnuPG signature)
• PaletteBuilder only, version 1.2 (31 KB), separately (GnuPG signature)

Version 3.1:

• Full binary distribution, version 3.1 (192 KB), which includes the PaletteBuilder v1.2 helper application (GnuPG signature)

In order to run MMJ!, you must download a Java 1.1 or higher runtime or development kit. The following links can help you find a virtual machine for your operating system:

• Oracle Java Standard Edition (SE) Runtime Environment (JRE) for various platforms (Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and Solaris SPARC)
• OpenJDK
• Wikipedia article listing numerous active and inactive JRE versions

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Browse the Documentation

Although it's technically out of date, the entire MMJ! 3.1 documentation is here online for your browsing enjoyment. (I'm too busy/lazy to update it to the 4.0 docs.) Feel free to start by reading the "readme" file.

The FAQ has now been updated to reflect the new version 4.0 stuff, so it can now be considered up-to-date.

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Try MMJ! Online!

You can try MMJ! 3.1 online, right here at our site. Just follow this link and you will be presented with a small applet that will launch the program. Your browser must support Java 1.1 and JAR archives in order for it to work. Note that version 4.0 is a Java application only and has no applet mode, so you can't preview it here. You'll just have to download it.