SURF(1)

📦
version 1.0.6 · 5 versions
, in ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💖 SURF(1) — the Surf Tool, bestie edition 💖

okay so you found surf in the manual, section 1, and honestly? she's an icon. this is the Surf Tool page and we're gonna go through it together, no skipping, no skimming, fr fr. 🌸

✨ NAME ✨

surf — visualization of algebraic curves and surfaces 🦋

like. she draws the math. that's the whole vibe.

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

surf [FILE]...

that's it, that's the summoning ritual. drop some files in, she goes. 👑

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

surf is a script driven tool to render algebraic curves and surfaces. ✨

The only input needed is the equation of an algebraic curve/surface in everyday mathematical notation. The output is a (series of) color or black and white image(s) in one of several file formats. so like — you write math the way you'd text it to a friend, and she hands you back pictures. it's giving magical. 💅

surf also provides a C-style command language which helps working out more complicated equations. iykyk — when the equation gets extra, you get a whole language to wrangle it. 🔥

The resolution of an image is only bounded by the available memory. Since the image is stored as an array of floats and because some image processing algorithms need a copy of the image, you need at least width*height*12 bytes of virtual memory. no cap on the resolution, only on your RAM — the memory math is literally right there, do not come for me.

A relevant extension to the image output filename can be automatically provided by either enabling the auto-extension machinery or giving a dummy extension. The auto-extension machinery is disabled by default for backward compatibility, while the implemented dummy extensions are: .xxx, .XXX, .auto-extension, and .automatic-extension. so if you're wondering why your file didn't get a pretty extension — that's why, bestie. she's being polite to old scripts. 🎀

surf can handle curves/surfaces up to degree 30. The main features include algebraic curves, algebraic surfaces, hyper plane sections, lines on surfaces, multiple curves/surfaces, adaptive anti aliasing and dithering. thirty. degrees. she ate and left no crumbs. 🍓

✨ OPTIONS ✨

  • --disable-auto-extension — disable automatic extension for graphic files (default). this is the factory setting, she's chill like that. 🙈
  • --enable-auto-extension — enable automatic extension for graphic files. flip this on and let her name things for you. ✨
  • -v, --verbose — verbose operation, print the executed commands (default). she narrates everything unless told otherwise. main character energy, honestly. 💬
  • -q, --quiet, --silent — quiet operation, do not print the executed commands. three whole ways to say "bestie, not now". 🤫
  • -h, --help — display this help and exit. ⭐
  • -V, --version — display version tuple and exit. 👑

✨ AUTHORS ✨

Stephan Endrass, Hans Huelf, Ruediger Oertel, Kai Schneider, Ralf Schmitt, Johannes Beigel 🫶

six whole legends. the founding girlies of surf. respect. 💜

Copyright (C) 1997-2015 Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz

Copyright (C) 1996-1997 Friedrich Alexander Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg

heads up bestie: no SEE ALSO section on this page — she stands alone, unbothered, flawless. 💅

and that's the whole page, no notes. this version ships as surf (Debian ) and the date on it is February 2026, so consider this your cute lil sign-off: take care of her, run her well, and remember — up to degree 30. periodt. 🌈💖

📦 where this page comes from