From cec40722d56c8395056fbbce77c562552156f6b4 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Sadeep Madurange Date: Fri, 12 Dec 2025 23:16:51 +0800 Subject: Matrix post. --- _site/projects/matrix-digital-rain/index.html | 89 +++++++++++++++++++++++---- 1 file changed, 77 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-) (limited to '_site/projects') diff --git a/_site/projects/matrix-digital-rain/index.html b/_site/projects/matrix-digital-rain/index.html index 666456b..2893c92 100644 --- a/_site/projects/matrix-digital-rain/index.html +++ b/_site/projects/matrix-digital-rain/index.html @@ -44,23 +44,88 @@

THE MATRIX DIGITAL RAIN

12 JANUARY 2024

-

The famous digital rain from The Matrix, implemented in C.

+

“All I see is blonde, brunette, red head.” The iconic digital rain from The +Matrix in C, with zero dependencies - not even ncurses.

-

This project is a fork of Domsson’s beautiful Fakesteak.

- -

There are three color settings: head, tail, and background. They are configured -by setting the 24-bit RGB channels using COLOR_*_RED, COLOR_*_GRN, and -COLOR_*_BLU definitions. The ghosting effect of old monochrome screens is -achieved by scaling the RGB channels. This results in a rain effect that -closely resembles the original from the first Matrix movie.

- -

In addition, this implementation supports UTF-32 character sets. The -UNICODE_MIN and UNICODE_MAX controls the Unicode block used. For -instance, setting them to 0x30A1 and 0x30F6 rains Katakana:

+

Overview

+ +

This is my fork of Domsson’s beautiful Fakesteak. While studying the code, I wondered +what it would take to faithfully recreate the original Matrix from the first +movie without sacrificing the program’s minimalism and elegance.

+ +

My version adds:

+ +
    +
  • Unicode character support.
    • +
  • Fully customizable 24-bit RGB (truecolor) colors.
    • +
  • Glitches in the matrix.
    • +
  • Ghosting effect of old monochrome CRT displays.
    • +
  • Closely resembles the Matrix seen in the background during Neo and Cypher’s +conversation.
    • +
+ +

With no dependencies, compilation is trivial:

+ +
$ cc -O3 main.c -o matrix
+$ ./matrix
+
+ +

How does it work?

+ +

The program tracks the state of the terminal - characters, background and +foreground colors, shading levels, cursor position - using multiple internal +data buffers. On each frame, it updates these buffers and repaints the screen +using ANSI escape codes:

+ +
static void term_print(const matrix *mat, size_t row, size_t col)
+{
+    size_t idx;
+    idx = mat_idx(mat, row, col);
+    wprintf(L"\x1b[%d;%dH\x1b[38;2;%d;%d;%dm%lc",
+        row, col,
+        mat->rgb[idx].color[R],
+        mat->rgb[idx].color[G],
+        mat->rgb[idx].color[B],
+        mat->code[idx]);
+}
+
+ +

The ghosting effect, the signature feature of this implementation, works by +scaling and mixing the RGB channels:

+ +
static void mat_shade(matrix *mat, size_t row, size_t col) 
+{
+    unsigned char *color;
+    color = mat->rgb[mat_idx(mat, row, col)].color;
+    color[R] = color[R] - (color[R] - COLOR_BG_RED) / 2;
+    color[G] = color[G] - (color[G] - COLOR_BG_GRN) / 2;
+    color[B] = color[B] - (color[B] - COLOR_BG_BLU) / 2;
+}
+
+ +

The ghosting function emulates the screen decay by gradually transitioning each +raindrop’s color towards the background color. This approach provides two key +benefits: straightforward color configuration that integrates naturally with +Unix ricing (desktop customization) and high-fidelity recreation of the Matrix +aesthetic.

+ +

Customization

+ +

While you can adjust almost every aspect, including its speed, glitch +frequency, and rain density, the most useful settings for customization are the +color scheme and character set.

+ +

There are three color settings: head, tail, and background. You can configure +them by setting the COLOR_*_RED, COLOR_*_GRN, and COLOR_*_BLU definitions +in main.c.

+ +

The UNICODE_MIN and UNICODE_MAX values control the Unicode block used. For +example, setting them to 0x30A1 and 0x30F6 rains Katakana (if a font that +supports Katakana is present on the system):

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