A simple 16x16 dot animation from simple math rules

stankot · 2025-05-10T15:32:42 1746891162

Tixy is amazing! I built something very similar:

I wanted to create animations for my LED matrix screen, and I couldn’t find tixy anywhere. Only after I built pulsar I found it again.

Another similar project is https://sliderland.blinry.org/ which uses HTML sliders.

Fun stuff!

jakegmaths · 2025-05-10T08:09:28 1746864568

I loved tixy when I first discovered it a few years ago so created this https://www.mathsuniverse.com/tixy (with permission from the original author) with puzzles to solve on the tixy grid. I use it with my computer science students who get really into it.

oneeyedpigeon · 2025-05-10T10:53:31 1746874411

Reminds me of [Replicube](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3401490/Replicube/), which has released recently and does the same kind of thing in 3D.

dndn1 · 2025-05-10T10:38:00 1746873480

This is a cool way to teach!

I was blown away by the little functions at first and I too made a clone to experiment with calculang [1].

I added an evaluation feature (F9) so you can select sub-expressions and see what they do, which was helpful to figure out some patterns (video in [2])

[1] https://calculang-editables.netlify.app/tixyish

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXUd_-xrycs

acomjean · 2025-05-10T12:55:53 1746881753

Fun. Thanks!

Works well on phone. The phone keyboard is a bit clumsy but it works (that’s a phone issue)

soegaard · 2025-05-10T10:07:38 1746871658

Well done!

chrisjj · 2025-05-10T12:54:27 1746881667

> In computer graphics, the origin (0, 0) is top-left rather than bottom-left

Umm...

LocalH · 2025-05-10T15:47:38 1746892058

What's wrong with that statement? It has historically and traditionally been true for raster displays, even if there do exist ways to use standard Cartesian-style coordinates with a computer.

jakegmaths · 2025-05-10T17:20:03 1746897603

I'm struggling to see the problem with this statement, other than maybe to add in the word "usually". My students will know of graphs in maths where the origin is always bottom left. When working with HTML canvas and every other computer graphics situation I've worked in, it's top left instead.

ForOldHack · 2025-05-10T17:38:39 1746898719

"PostScript uses a coordinate system where the origin is at the bottom-left corner of the page, with the x-axis increasing to the right and the y-axis increasing upwards."

Oscilloscopes use middle-left.

Unreal engine and SketchUp use Screen middle with xy increasing to the right.

in AutoCAD, the user coordinate system is 1/3 of the screen to the left for the origin, with X increasing to the right, and Y increasing upwards.

Almost all raster displays, and memory based programs assume top left, because that is how it was done first - counter intuitive.

Lerc · 2025-05-10T23:02:55 1746918175

It it not counter intuitive and the decision extends far earlier than the first displays.

A raster image onscreen is displayed in the order that the data appears when written down. It stands to reason that a data depiction should be in the same orientation as the display orientation. Displays were created by people who read from left to right, top to bottom. If the displays did not follow that order. images would be flipped or rotated when displayed in a data form.

The first pixel written to the display is in the top left because we read from the top left. If writers of another language had have popularised the text, perhaps things might have been different.

animal531 · 2025-05-10T13:15:47 1746882947

Weeee: https://tixy.land/?code=sin%28x%29*cos%28y%29%2Bcos%28x%29*s...

White blood cells attack: https://tixy.land/?code=sin%28x%2Bt%29%2Fcos%28y%2Bi%29%2Bco...

progre · 2025-05-10T19:51:52 1746906712

Fire! https://tixy.land/?code=Math.sin%28%28y%2F3%5Ex%7Ci%29%2Bt%2...

levzettelin · 2025-05-10T14:46:07 1746888367

Basically https://www.shadertoy.com/ for dummies. Right up my alley haha ;)

rpastuszak · 2025-05-10T07:23:34 1746861814

I made a drawing app with programmable brushes inspired by tixy:

https://fig.sonnet.io

It’s pretty fun because the shape dynamics are time, and not pressure/tilt based, so you need to draw in a rhythm.

Here’s how they work and how they’re implemented:

https://untested.sonnet.io/notes/fig-tree-brushes/

agys · 2025-05-10T18:16:57 1746901017

The author is Martin Kleppe (@aemkei on X), famous for his incredible quines and other JS magic.

https://aem1k.com/world/

https://aem1k.com/qlock/

alexilchenko · 2025-05-10T12:22:40 1746879760

5 fold star: https://tixy.land/?code=sin%285*atan2%28y-7.5%2Cx-7.5%29-t%2...

alexilchenko · 2025-05-10T12:34:16 1746880456

Two snakes: https://tixy.land/?code=exp%28-%28%28x-7%29**2%29%2F12%29*si...

Isognoviastoma · 2025-05-10T10:48:51 1746874131

https://tixy.land/?code=%28%28t%2F4%2Batan2%28x-8%2Cy-7%29%2...

a radar

asicsp · 2025-05-10T14:58:17 1746889097

Previous discussion with patterns in comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24974534

yusina · 2025-05-11T06:22:02 1746944522

Isn't i == x + 16*y? Why is it needed?

lsdkfjlkasfj · 2025-05-11T04:00:56 1746936056

Also https://ptol.github.io/hexyzland/

continuational · 2025-05-10T09:51:49 1746870709

Fun!

https://tixy.land/?code=sin%28i%2Bt%29

_def · 2025-05-10T10:24:10 1746872650

i don't even know whats happening but its mesmerizing https://tixy.land/?code=sin%28i*t%2F128%29

Sharlin · 2025-05-10T16:33:54 1746894834

It draws a slightly tilted sine wave gradient (i=16y+x so atan(1/16) ≈ 3.6°) whose frequency increases until it starts to alias due ro the limited resolution (cf. Nyquist sampling theorem) and exhibit what’s essentially the wagon wheel effect [1]. Nice illustration of signal processing fundamentals!

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagon-wheel_effect

Nautman · 2025-05-10T11:22:22 1746876142

I love it! Here's a windscreen wiper.

https://tixy.land/?code=sin%28t%29*%281%2Bx%2By%29-x

tetris11 · 2025-05-10T08:20:36 1746865236

https://tixy.land/?code=x-y*y%2Ft%2F5

'Vanishing Curve'

jagraff · 2025-05-10T22:03:17 1746914597

Moving, ever expanding circle: https://tixy.land/?code=%28x-10*t%2521%29**2%2B%28y-10*t%252...

shirajg · 2025-05-10T22:39:44 1746916784

https://tixy.land/?code=%281%2Ft%258%29+%2F+tan%28t+%2F+%28y...

nopakos · 2025-05-10T12:45:26 1746881126

That's fantastic!

I would love something like this in my living room. Especially if it is not just a screen. Maybe a grid of 256 screens? Or inflating balloons? Something easier to make? Just on/off big pixels?

dave1010uk · 2025-05-10T20:53:47 1746910427

https://tixy.land/?code=%28%28x%2Bt%29%5E%28t%7Cy*t%29%29%25...

Strobe warning, especially after about 20 seconds.

skrebbel · 2025-05-10T20:28:46 1746908926

Wow this is extremely well done! All the defaults are chosen so well to make simple inputs get pretty results. The interpretation of the result value, the scale of `t`, the colors, it's all not trivial at all to get right! Hats off

Tepix · 2025-05-10T12:59:01 1746881941

I like this creation of mine:

https://tixy.land/?code=sin%28t*x%29%2Bi%2F256

fittingopposite · 2025-05-10T19:55:09 1746906909

Pretty psychedelic https://tixy.land/?code=Math.cos%28y%2F8%2Bsqrt%282*t*i%2Bx%...

kazinator · 2025-05-10T19:25:56 1746905156

Stretchy curtain:

(sin(t) * sin(t) + 0.2) * (sin(y / (cos(t) * cos(t) + 0.7)) + sin(x))

ubitaco · 2025-05-10T15:43:42 1746891822

fun! Here's a heart: https://tixy.land/?code=hypot%28x-7%2Cy%2Babs%28x-7%29-9%29-...

rickcarlino · 2025-05-10T18:44:16 1746902656

Similar project, but based on Forth: https://forthsalon.appspot.com/

MeteorMarc · 2025-05-10T16:22:19 1746894139

If you like this, also check 3d animations on a led cube. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=odFljHeCNaY

alexilchenko · 2025-05-10T12:30:15 1746880215

That's no moon! https://tixy.land/?code=%28%28d%3D36-%28x-%3D7%29**2-%28y-%3...

antirez · 2025-05-10T08:22:02 1746865322

The classic: sin(x/2+t)+cos(y/2+sin(t))

gus_massa · 2025-05-10T15:06:26 1746889586

Link for the lazy: https://tixy.land/?code=sin%28x%2F2%2Bt%29%2Bcos%28y%2F2%2Bs...

mckeed · 2025-05-10T12:55:27 1746881727

Centered circle wave: https://tixy.land/?code=Math.sin%28-2*t%2B0.045*%28x-7.5%29*...

flockonus · 2025-05-10T21:24:58 1746912298

Cool! I can see it being usable as a spinner as well. How did you come up with these magic numbers?

flufluflufluffy · 2025-05-10T16:39:23 1746895163

https://tixy.land/?code=sin%280.2*x*t%29+-+cos%280.2*y*t%29

rel_ic · 2025-05-10T15:30:17 1746891017

https://tixy.land/?code=sin%28t*sin%28t%29%2F9-x%29*sin%28t-...

Jyaif · 2025-05-10T11:11:36 1746875496

https://tixy.land/?code=-.5%2B%28x%5Ey%29%25%283*Math.sin%28...

Lerc · 2025-05-11T04:31:53 1746937913

I managed to come up with a suffix that displays outputs of my own weird thing in a tixy style.

https://c50.fingswotidun.com/show/?code=28*ddx*%24%3Ay*%243o...*

Quite a fun challenge.

The Suffix is 2<02->P8dus:vs

which is

  2<02->    clip to -2 to +2

  P8*d  2 copies of 8*PI

  u*s   8 horizontal sine 

  :v*s  8 vertical sine

  *  mix horz and vert to make the tixy circles.