contextfree

ContextFree is a domain-specific language and environment for algorithmic art that uses context-free grammars to generate images. By defining shapes and their transformations in rules, artists can produce complex, scalable vector graphics without imperative drawing commands.

In ContextFree, a grammar starts with a designated start symbol and expands through productions into subshapes. Rules can be recursive, enabling intricate, self-similar patterns. Shapes may be primitive forms such as circles and polygons or user-defined composites, and they are positioned, rotated, scaled, and colored using a set of transformation operators.

A notable feature is the combination of determinism and randomness. Writers can fix a seed for reproducible results or introduce randomness to create variation between renderings. The system often supports symmetry, tiling, and palette-driven styling to guide the visual outcome.

Output from ContextFree is typically vector graphics suitable for further editing or publication. Rendered images can be exported to formats such as SVG, EPS, or PDF, and are commonly viewed with a dedicated ContextFree viewer or imported into other graphics workflows.

History and community: ContextFree emerged in the generative-art community as an accessible tool for programmatic art. It is distributed as free, open-source software, and a repository of example grammars and artworks has grown through community contributions.

See also: Generative art, L-systems, vector graphics, procedural generation.