The Computational Beauty of Nature
Computer Explorations of Fractals, Chaos,
Complex Systems, and Adaptation


About the Book
  · title page
  · home*
  · cover artwork
  · jacket text
  · table of contents
  · the author*
  · ordering information
Book Contents
  · three themes
  · part synopses
  · selected excerpts
  · all figures from book
  · quotes from book
  · glossary from book
  · bibliography
  · slide show
Source Code
  · overview &
documentation
  · FAQ list*
  · download source code
  · java applets
Miscellany
  · news*
  · reviews & awards
  · errata
  · for educators
  · bibliography (BibTeX format)
  · other links
News and To Do Items


News
  • 30 Nov 2002 - Made minor changes in the news items, added a FAQ entry, updated author affiliation, and added Amazon links.

  • 21 Nov 2000 - Two major changes: (1) Added all of the figures from the book; includes thumbnail gallery, and archives of the figures in several formats. (2) Restructured the glossary so that there are many sections for each initial letter. This keeps the pages down to around 30KB; the full glossary had been over 150KB. I also made many little minor corrections and modifications including: fixing broken Fatbrain link, adding two FAQ items, added info for Stephanie Forrest's course, etc.

  • 4 Jul 2000 - I went crazy and redid the entire style of the website: new fancy boxes, consistent color theme, and (wow!) JavaScript. Added a bunch of new reviews and courses. Added the new section on the FAQ list. Added paperback links to the ordering section.

  • 12 Dec 1999 - Added London Times review to home page and to reviews section. Added my NEC website to the author section.

  • 24 Oct 1999 - Many new corrections have been added to the errata section. Changed the color scheme (the purple/pink motif was getting on my nerves). Changed the home page to include many news items related to the book and to yours truly. Extensively updated the "For Educators" section.

  • 18 Apr 1999 - Very minor updates. Most changes in the news & awards section. Some small changes in the ordering section. Note that the author's email address has changed. (``Free email for life'' said the folks at USA.NET. Yeah, sure.)

  • 18 Dec 1998 - Minor update to author info. Added Mac stuff. Added current errata. Added section for reviews, etc.

  • 26 Oct 1998 - So many changes, let me count the ways...

    1. IE ``ugly mode'' disabled - my apologies to anyone using IE that saw this website prior to this version. Actually, my apologies to anyone using IE.

    2. Windows 95/98/NT port for the code is now here! - I managed to find a nice plotting package that simplified the whole thing; however, you still need to use the command-line interface. I may do something about this at a later date.

    3. Updated author information - I am no longer at SCR. Changed email address as well.

    4. Changed Java source with class files to be a ZIP file (instead of a JAR file). (If you don't have Java, how could you handle JARs? Duh.)

    5. Kickbacks from book sellers - If your order from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, or ComputerLiteracy by following the link in the ordering section, I get free beer.

    6. Errata entries now reflect source code changes.

    7. Added ``for educators'' section.

  • 29 Sep 1998 - Updated author information and added valid email address. Added best online price information. Added prebuilt C distribution for Linux and Solaris. Java jar file now contains *.class files for people without Java compilers.

  • 9 Sep 1998 - Fixed minor typos.

  • 27 Aug 1998 - Corrected affiliation and web links for Barak Pearlmutter and Greg Chaitin. Added web tracking link on main page.

  • 9 Aug 1998 - Fixed a typo or two. Significantly modified java applets: HP and Termites now use fat pixels; L-system, Lorenz, and Rossler are new; Lorenz, Rossler, and MG use a new 3D viewer; changed Gen1D to plot lines; fixed a bug in HP; Cleaned up Panel interface to allow multiple indirect modifications to other controls.

  • 1 Aug 1998 - First public version.

To Do
  • When questions start coming, I'll compile a list of Frequently Asked Questions.

  • The C source code will be updated by 2001 with a new Windows interface.

Copyright © Gary William Flake, 1998-2002. All Rights Reserved. Last modified: 30 Nov 2002