L-System Editor

A comprehensive graphical and command-line editor for creating, manipulating, and visualizing Lindenmayer systems (L-systems).

This project was initially developed as part of a university project.

What are L-Systems?

L-systems (Lindenmayer systems) are a type of formal grammar introduced by biologist Aristid Lindenmayer in 1968. They are particularly useful for modeling plant growth and generating fractals. An L-system consists of:

• An alphabet of symbols that can be used to make strings
• An axiom (initial string) to start with
• A set of production rules that expand each symbol into a larger string of symbols

Through recursive application of these rules, complex structures can be generated from simple initial conditions.

Features

• Interactive GUI for creating and editing L-systems
• Command-line interface for batch processing and automated workflows
• Real-time visualization of the L-system at different development levels
• Export capabilities to PS (PostScript) format for now
• Customizable rendering with adjustable parameters (colors, margins, dimensions)
• Save and load L-system definitions using .ls files

Installation

Using Alire (recommended)

alr install lsystem_editor

From Source

1. Ensure you have Ada and GtkAda installed. This project depends on GNAT Lib.
2. Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/Heziode/lsystem-editor.git
3. Build with Alire: alr build or manually with make

Usage

GUI Mode

Launch the graphical interface:

./bin/lsystem_editor
# Or
alr run

The GUI offers:

• A text editor area for defining L-system rules
• Controls to adjust the development level
• Real-time visualization of the L-system
• Export options
• Customization of colors and rendering parameters

Command-Line Mode

For automated processing or batch operations:

lsystem_editor --no-gui [OPTIONS]

Command-Line Options

Option	Long Form	Description
-i	--input=FILE	Input file containing an L-system definition
-o	--output=FILE	Output file to store an L-system definition
-e	--export=FORMAT	Export format for the L-system representation
-p	--export-file=FILE	Output file for the exported representation
-d	--develop=N	Number of development steps to apply
-w	--width=N	Width of the output representation
-h	--height=N	Height of the output representation
-b	--background-color=COLOR	Background color in hex format (e.g., #AABBCC)
-f	--foreground-color=COLOR	Foreground color in hex format (e.g., #AABBCC)
-mt	--margin-top=N	Top margin for rendering
-mr	--margin-right=N	Right margin for rendering
-mb	--margin-bottom=N	Bottom margin for rendering
-ml	--margin-left=N	Left margin for rendering

L-System File Format

L-system definitions are stored in .ls files with the following syntax:

<angle> [angle in degrees]
<axiom> [initial string]
<rules>
[symbol] [replacement string]
[symbol] [replacement string]
...
</rules>

Example L-System: Koch Curve

60.0
-F++F++F
F F-F++F-F

Where:

• F means "draw forward"
• + means "turn left by angle"
• - means "turn right by angle"

Controls in GUI Mode

• Text Editor: Define and edit your L-system
• Validate Button: Check if your L-system definition is valid
• Level Spinner: Adjust the development level
• Color Controls: Change foreground and background colors
• Export Options: Save visualizations

License

L-System Editor is distributed under the MIT License.

Copyright (c) 2018 Quentin Dauprat (Heziode)

See the LICENSE file for full details.