This project has been created as part of the 42 curriculum by dprikhod

Description

FDF (Fil De Fer - Wireframe) is a 3D wireframe viewer that reads height maps from .fdf files and renders them as wireframe models. The project implements a complete 3D to 2D projection pipeline using the MiniLibX graphics library.

The goal of this project is to:

• Parse map files containing height data and optional color information
• Transform 3D coordinates to 2D screen space using isometric projection
• Render wireframe models using efficient line drawing algorithms
• Provide a basic interactive 3D visualization system

Features

• Map Parsing: Supports both height-only and height,color formats in .fdf files
• Isometric Projection: Fixed 3D to 2D transformation for wireframe rendering
• Color Support: Uses file-specified colors, defaults to white when not provided
• Window Management: Creates and manages graphical windows using MiniLibX
• Memory Management: Proper memory allocation and cleanup following 42 School norms

Instructions

Compilation

The project uses a custom Makefile with multiple build targets:

# Build the entire project (release mode)
make

# Build in debug mode with additional debugging information
make debug

# Clean build artifacts
make clean

# Full clean (remove executable)
make fclean

# Rebuild from scratch
make re

# Build dependencies individually
make -C libft      # Build libft library
make -C mlx_linux   # Build MiniLibX library

Execution

# Run with a map file
./fdf test_maps/mars.fdf

# Available test maps
./fdf test_maps/42.fdf     # Simple test map
./fdf test_maps/elem.fdf   # Medium complexity
./fdf test_maps/julia.fdf  # Complex map
./fdf test_maps/mars.fdf   # Mars terrain data

Map File Format

.fdf files contain space-separated values:

# Height only format
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9

# Height,color format
1,0xFFFFFF 2,0xFF0000 3,0x00FF00
4,0x0000FF 5,0xFFFF00 6,0xFF00FF

Requirements

• Operating System: Linux (tested on Arch Linux)
• Compiler: GCC with C11 support
• Libraries:
  • libft (custom utility library)
  • MiniLibX (graphics library)
  • X11 development libraries
  • Math library (libm)

Dependencies Installation (Arch Linux)

sudo pacman -S base-devel libx11 libxext

Resources

Technical References

• MiniLibX Documentation: Graphics library reference
• 42 School Norm: Coding standards and guidelines
• Bresenham's Line Algorithm: Line drawing implementation
• Isometric Projection: 3D to 2D transformation
• libft Reference: Custom C library functions

Learning Resources

• Gitbook by Laura
• Guide for MiniLibX by hsmits and jvan-sni
• Difference Between Orthographic and Isometric Projection

AI Usage

AI was used in this project for the following tasks and parts:

• Debugging and Troubleshooting: AI assistance was used to identify and fix segmentation faults, particularly in memory management and pointer validation within the fdf_clean_all function
• Documentation Enhancement: AI helped structure and improve this README.md to meet 42 School requirements

Note: All core algorithm implementations (parsing, projection mathematics, line drawing, graphics rendering) were developed independently. AI was used only as a learning and debugging tool, not for code generation of primary functionality.

Testing

Manual Testing

# Test with various map files
./fdf test_maps/42.fdf
./fdf test_maps/elem.fdf
./fdf test_maps/julia.fdf
./fdf test_maps/mars.fdf

# Test MiniLibX functionality
cd mlx_linux/test && ./mlx-test

Error Handling Tests

The program handles various error conditions:

• Invalid file formats
• Memory allocation failures
• Graphics library initialization failures
• File access permissions

Technical Choices

Graphics Pipeline

• Image Buffer Rendering: Uses off-screen image buffers for flicker-free rendering
• Static Display: Fixed projection without real-time transformation for simplicity
• Bresenham's Algorithm: Efficient line drawing between 2D points

Memory Management

• Contiguous Memory Allocation: Points stored in single contiguous block for cache efficiency
• Proper Cleanup: All allocated memory properly freed in error paths
• 42 Norm Compliance: Follows strict coding standards and memory management practices

Future Enhancements

Potential improvements for future versions:

• Interactive controls (zoom, rotation, translation)
• Multiple projection modes (perspective, orthographic)
• Real-time color gradients based on height
• Texture mapping support
• Performance optimization for large maps