anemotaxis(6)

📦
version 6.15 · 2 versions
, in alpine 3.24, arch rolling, nixpkgs unstable

💨 anemotaxis(6) — the XScreenSaver manual, bestie edition 💨

okay so this is the page for anemotaxis, one of the XScreenSaver hacks, and yes the name is a whole mouthful — it's from the Greek-ish science word for "directional search on a plane." we love a queen with a vocabulary 💅

✨ NAME ✨

anemotaxis — literally a directional search on a plane. that's it, that's the vibe.

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

anemotaxis [--display host:display.screen] [--visual visual] [--window]
[--root] [--window-id number] [--delay number] [--distance number]
[--sources number] [--searchers number] [--fps]

like, that's the whole invocation, copy it exactly, don't come for me 🫶

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so picture this: the program demonstrates a search algorithm designed for locating a source of odor in turbulent atmosphere. yes, odor. we're doing smell science today, bestie. 🍓

The odor is convected by wind which has a constant mean direction and fluctuations around it. The searcher is able to sense the odor and determine local instantaneous wind direction. The goal is to find the source in the shortest mean time. Some animals face this task to find mates, food, home etc. They exhibit very particular, zigzagging search trajectories. and honestly? iconic behavior. the zigzag is the whole point, the zigzag ATE. ✨

This is modeled as a search on a discrete two-dimensional lattice. The source releases particles that drift with constant velocity in one direction and walk randomly in the other direction. The searcher knows if it hit a particle, and if so, particle's position one time step earlier (local wind direction). that's the little memory trick, the searcher is lowkey snooping on where the particle was — that's the local wind direction, iykyk.

The program paints sources and particles released by them as well as trajectories of searchers who are trying to capture the sources. so you get to watch the whole chase on screen. main character energy for everyone involved. 👑

💖 OPTIONS 💖

  • --visual visual — Specify which visual to use. Legal values are the name of a visual class, or the id number (decimal or hex) of a specific visual. pick your aesthetic, bestie.
  • --window — Draw on a newly-created window. This is the default. the standard slay.
  • --root — Draw on the root window. full desktop takeover, no cap.
  • --window-id number — Draw on the specified window. you pick which one gets the glow-up.
  • --delay number — Per-frame delay, in microseconds. Default: 20000 (0.02 seconds.). that's the speed knob, go wild.
  • --distance number — Max initial distance to the source. 10 - 250. Default: 40. yes the space before the period in the original range is a thing, I'm keeping the details fr fr.
  • --sources number — Max number of sources. Default: 25. the more sources the more chaos, and chaos is a lifestyle.
  • --searchers number — Max number of searchers. Default: 25. an entire ensemble cast of little sniffers. 😭
  • --fps — Display the current frame rate and CPU load. ngl this is my fave, it's giving performance metrics and I'm obsessed 🔥

🌈 ENVIRONMENT 🌈

  • DISPLAY — to get the default host and display number. classic, always on the job.
  • XENVIRONMENT — to get the name of a resource file that overrides the global resources stored in the RESOURCE_MANAGER property. the override queen 💅
  • XSCREENSAVER_WINDOW — The window ID to use with --root. this one rides shotgun with --root, don't forget it.

🌸 SEE ALSO 🌸

go read those too, they're the extended universe 🫶

Copyright © 2004 by Eugene Balkovsky. Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation. No representations are made about the suitability of this software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

(that's the legal bit, read it properly please, it's not a vibe to skim 💀)

🧚 AUTHOR 🧚

Eugene Balkovsky — we stan the icon who made the zigzag happen 🎀

🌸 okay that's the whole page! this was drawn from X Version 11, release 6.15 (30-Mar-2026) — that's the version and date right there, noted with love. go forth and locate your odor source, bestie. 💜🦋✨

📦 where this page comes from