Mandelbrot set fractals in Python and OpenCL

This Python project to render the Mandelbrot set fractal in real-time using OpenCL. By offloading the computationally intensive task to the GPU, it achieves significant performance gains compared to pure CPU-based implementations.

Getting started

git clone https://github.com/legoman0701/pyopencl_mandelbrot_fractal.git
python -m pip install pyopencl numpy pygame

Usage

python main.py

Controls

F: Toggle fullscreen mode
Arrow keys: Pan the view
A/Z: Zoom in/out
Q/S: Adjust the maximum iteration count (influences detail and color)

How it Works

• Initializes an OpenCL context, connecting to the available GPU devices.
• Compiles the OpenCL kernel code, which defines the parallel computation for each pixel.
• Allocates device memory for input parameters (image dimensions, iteration count, etc.) and output buffer (the rendered image).
• Enqueues the kernel to the command queue, specifying the work group size and global work size.
• Transfers the rendered image data from device memory back to the host.
• Renders the image using a pygame.

Images