Computer graphics is a wonderful real-world use case for a lot of the math we learn in school. For example, take a look at Inigo Quilez's video tutorials. This one is particularly cool.

I don't have skills like Inigo but I still have fun making 2D shapes using math.

Here are a few fun tools for drawing 2D shapes using math:

- FormulaGraph
  - ** Added to this list in August 2021 **
  - After originally publishing this list, I built my own formula grapher by combining Relplot and Graphtoy (both mentioned below)
  - Features: interactive graphs, convenient UI, animate with time, available in any web browser, graph formulas (not just functions), graph polar formulas, graph inequalities
  - See the full details here

- TI calculators
  - You might have had one of these in high school
  - I had a TI-83 Plus which turned out to be a fun device. Here are some of its neat features:
    - BASIC programming
    - Play games in MirageOS (back in my day the most popular game was Phoenix and it looks like people kept innovating since then! They even made a version of Geometry Wars!)
    - Share programs and games via a cable (they spread through the whole high school this way)
    - Graph interesting equations and shapes
      - There's a graphing mode which traces a function's shape with an animating circle. An upperclassman graphed some functions together which made it look like this circle was a ball bouncing down stairs. This stuck with me and is part of the inspiration for this post!
  - Looking back, I'm glad we got to play with these! Thank you, TI-83 Plus, for my earliest programming and engineering experiences!

- Graphing calculator websites
  - WolframAlpha
    - Very powerful. For example: graphing x^y = y^x, including symbolically refactoring the equation to solve for y.
  - Meta-Calculator
    - OK in a pinch
  - FooPlot
    - Source code
    - Fairly full-featured!

- Graphing calculator apps
  - GeoGebra Graphing Calculator
    - This app is really good! Much like WolframAlpha and Relplot, this app can graph arbitrary equations and inequations like x^y = y^x, 1 = x^2 + y^2, y > x, etc.
  - Desmos Graphing Calculator
    - This app might be even better. It also supports polar equations (e.g. r = cos(4*theta)).
    - Also available as a website
  - NumWorks Graphing Calculator (simulates a physical calculator; hard to use)

- Relplot
  - Powerful graphing capabilities: arbitrary equations and inequations
  - Source code (my backup)
  - Relplot is written by one of my favorite CS professors, Andrew Myers!
  - In fact, it's a more sophisticated version of a programming assignment we completed in his Functional Programming course
  - Interesting implementation details:
    - Lexes and parses inputted formulas so they can be evaluated
    - Slightly refactors the formulas to be of the form "0 = formula" or "0 > formula":
      - For example, converts "1 = x^2 + y^2" into "0 = x^2 + y^2 + -(1)"
      - In this form, all solutions to the formula are "zeros"
    - Uses interval arithmetic (implemented here) to identify subsections of the graph that contain x, y values for which the formula evaluates to zero
    - Like a binary search, recursively searches smaller and smaller subsections of the graph for zeros until the interval size is too small to be visible. At this threshold, it can just draw a tiny line between the corners of the interval.

- Graphtoy (my backup)
  - This is another cool piece of work by Inigo Quilez
  - Something special: Graphtoy has a variable for elapsed time (t) which can be used to create animations
  - Source code
  - Interesting implementation details:
    - Instead of implementing its own parser, Graphtoy turns the formulas into JavaScript snippets
    - See the "iCompile" function which tweaks the inputted formula strings to be valid JavaScript and constructs Formula objects which can later be invoked