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Prerequisites

Before building Fract’ol, ensure you have the following dependencies installed on your system:

GCC Compiler

GNU Compiler Collection for compiling C code

Make

Build automation tool for running the Makefile

MiniLibX

Graphics library for creating windows and handling events

X11 Libraries

X Window System libraries (libX11, libXext)

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Installing Dependencies

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gcc make libx11-dev libxext-dev libbsd-dev
The MiniLibX library is included in the project as a submodule (minilibx-linux/) and will be built automatically during compilation.

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Installation Steps

1

Clone the Repository

Clone the Fract’ol repository to your local machine:
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/fractol.git
cd fractol
2

Initialize MiniLibX Submodule

If MiniLibX is included as a git submodule, initialize and update it:
git submodule init
git submodule update
If the minilibx-linux/ directory is already present, you can skip this step.
3

Build the Project

Compile the project using the provided Makefile:
make
This command will:
  • Compile the MiniLibX library in minilibx-linux/
  • Compile all C source files (*.c) in the project directory
  • Link against required libraries: -lmlx -lm -lX11 -lXext
  • Generate the fractol executable
cc -Wall -Wextra -Werror -c main.c -o main.o
cc -Wall -Wextra -Werror -c fractol_init.c -o fractol_init.o
cc -Wall -Wextra -Werror -c fractol_render.c -o fractol_render.o
cc -Wall -Wextra -Werror -c events.c -o events.o
cc -Wall -Wextra -Werror -c math_utils.c -o math_utils.o
cc -Wall -Wextra -Werror -c string_utils.c -o string_utils.o
cc -Wall -Wextra -Werror -o fractol main.o fractol_init.o fractol_render.o events.o math_utils.o string_utils.o -Lminilibx-linux/ -lmlx -lm -lX11 -lXext
4

Verify Installation

Confirm the executable was created successfully:
ls -l fractol
You should see the fractol executable file in your project directory.

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Makefile Targets

The project includes several useful Makefile targets: 
make
# or
make all
TargetDescription
make or make allBuilds MiniLibX and compiles the fractol executable
make cleanRemoves all object files (*.o)
make fcleanRemoves object files and the executable
make rePerforms a full rebuild (fclean + all)

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Compiler Flags

The project is compiled with strict warning flags to ensure code quality: 
-Wall -Wextra -Werror
  • -Wall: Enable all common warnings
  • -Wextra: Enable extra warnings not covered by -Wall
  • -Werror: Treat all warnings as errors

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Troubleshooting

Common build issues and their solutions:

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MiniLibX Build Fails

Problem: Error building MiniLibX library Solution: Ensure X11 development libraries are installed: 
sudo apt-get install libx11-dev libxext-dev

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Missing Math Library

Problem: Undefined references to sqrt, pow, or other math functions Solution: The Makefile already includes -lm flag. Ensure your system has the math library: 
ldconfig -p | grep libm

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Permission Denied

Problem: Cannot execute ./fractol Solution: Make the executable file executable: 
chmod +x fractol

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Linking Errors with X11

Problem: Cannot find -lX11 or -lXext Solution: Install X11 extension libraries: 
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install libxext-dev

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install libXext-devel

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Compilation Warnings as Errors

Problem: Build fails due to warnings being treated as errors (-Werror) Solution: Fix the warnings in the source code. The strict flags ensure high code quality. If necessary for testing, you can temporarily modify the CFLAGS in the Makefile: 
CFLAGS = -Wall -Wextra
# Removed -Werror temporarily
It’s recommended to fix warnings rather than disable -Werror to maintain code quality.

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Next Steps

Now that you have successfully built Fract’ol, proceed to the Quickstart Guide to learn how to run and interact with the fractal explorer.

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