FdF - Wireframe Viewer

FdF (Fil de Fer) is a 3D wireframe map visualizer written in C using the MLX42 graphics library. It takes a .fdf file as input, representing a grid of elevation values, and renders a 3D wireframe projection in a 2D window. Built as part of the 42 School curriculum, this project demonstrates graphics programming, transformation matrices, event handling, and custom memory management.

Features

• Isometric, parallel, and conic (perspective) projections
• Real-time transformations (translate, rotate, scale) via keyboard
• Interactive rendering with MLX42 + GLFW
• Smooth color gradients and Z-buffering for proper depth handling
• Custom memory management using a lightweight garbage collector
• Automatic scaling and centering for varying map sizes

Screenshots

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Dependencies

This project depends on:

• MLX42 (requires CMake)
• glfw, cmake, libpthread, libm

Install via Homebrew (for macOS, including M1/M2 chips):

brew install cmake glfw

Build

Clone the repository and run

make

This will: Build libft, ft_printf, and MLX42 Compile all project source files Link everything into the fdf executable

Usage

./fdf path/to/map.fdf

Controls

Key	Action
W/A/S/D	Translate on X/Y axes
Q/E	Translate on Z axis
←/→/↑/↓	Move image in 2D space
Z/X	Zoom in/out
TAB	Switch transformation mode
SPACE	Toggle auto-centering
1	Isometric projection
2	Parallel projection
3	Conic (perspective) projection
ESC	Exit the application

Map file format

.fdf files define a grid of elevation values, optionally with colors:

0  1  2
3  4  5
6,0xFF0000 7 8

Each number represents a height (z), and optional colors can be specified in hexadecimal format

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General Info

Code Structure

• main.c – program entry point and initialization
• parsing.c – file parsing and input validation
• projection.c – 3D to 2D projections (isometric, parallel, conic)
• transform_map.c – transformation of 3D map coordinates
• transform_image.c – transformation of 2D projected pixels
• line.c – line drawing via Bresenham’s algorithm
• keyhook.c – interactive keyboard handling
• gc_alloc.c/h – custom garbage collection and memory handling

Memory management

The project includes a garbage collection module that tracks all dynamic allocations and automatically frees memory on error or exit. This simplifies memory management and prevents leaks, please check libft/gc_alloc for details.