EACoder
Help Center

General FAQ

FAQ 1: What is EACoder?

EACoder is a web based application which allows users to create computer generated images using mathematical formulas and/or conditional coding.

FAQ 2: Who created EACoder?

I did. Me being Patrick Heddles, pheddles.com webmaster and all that sort of thing. Assorted people have helped with testing and ideas, though, and one of them (Dave) wrote most of this documentation. I'll write a credits page sometime and thank people.

FAQ 3: What do I need to start using EACoder?

EACoder uses a selected subset of the PHP scripting language. While some existing knowledge of PHP would be very useful, the help center will shortly have documentation to aid you in learning what is needed to get started producing your very own equation art. There are no technical requirements - if you can read this document, you can use EACoder.

FAQ 4: Where can I get a copy of EACoder?

EACoder is a web application. It runs on a web server and you interact with it through your web browser. Therefore, it cannot be run on your local system. At some future date, the code for EACoder will be released and at that time individuals who have web server software on their system will be able to download the code and run it locally. There are no current plans to create a stand-alone version of EACoder.

FAQ 5: Can EACoder be harmful to my computer?

No. EACoder, as written and currently deployed, runs entirely on a web server. You interact with EACoder using your web browser which sends the web server the information which you have entered into the EACoder page, which is actually just an HTML form. When EACoder is done processing the code which you have supplied, the page is refreshed and the resulting image, in png format, is displayed in the EACoder page in the same manner as any other image on the web. In short, all processing takes place on EACoder's web server, not your own system.

FAQ 6: Should I be concerned if my children are using EACoder?

Not at all. EACoder is a program which generates images based entirely on mathematical formulas and logical operations. It cannot be used for anything but that purpose. Also, learning to use EACoder can be very educational as it uses a subset of the PHP scripting language which is currently one of the most widely used web server scripting languages. Given the nature of the modern internet, such skills can be quite useful for those interested in the information technology field.

FAQ 7: Who owns the images produced with EACoder?

Whoever writes the code owns the rights to the image produced. I do not claim any rights whatsoever to any images you produce, except the non-exclusive and very temporary rights necessary in order to provide this service. By the time you see the image, both code and image have been deleted from the server.

FAQ 8: What if two people come up with the same image?

I'm not exactly sure. I've started a thread to discuss it, in the equationartists group's forum at Storm-Artists.net. Feel free to join up and join in the discussion.

FAQ 9: Where can I display artworks I make with EACoder?

I recommend Storm-Artists.net. As far as I know, it is the only art community website with an equation art category. It's free and unrestricted, and there's even a group there for equation artists. For the record, I am a core administrator there.

Error Messages

FAQ 700: I get the error message: "Call to undefined function". What does it mean?

This usually means you have misspelled a function name in the code you have written. Look for whatever the undefined function is, and replace it with whatever you meant to type. If you have typed it correctly and still get this error, please let me know.

FAQ 701: I get the error message: "unexpected T_VARIABLE" or "unexpected T_STRING". What does it mean?

This usually means you have forgotten to put a semicolon at the end of a line. For simple code, every line of code you enter must end with a semicolon. Note to advanced users: for these purposes, "simple code" is defined as code for which this rule is true.

FAQ 702: I get the error message: "Unrecognised function". What does it mean?

This means you have tried to use a function which isn't on the list of allowed functions. If you would like that function to be added to the list, send me an email about it.

FAQ 703: I get the error message: "Forbidden token". What does it mean?

This means you have tried to use one of the few commands I've specifically forbidden. Don't do that.

FAQ 704: I get the warning: "Division by zero". What does it mean?

This means you've tried to divide by zero. It's a good idea to use if() statements to specify what to do when the denominator in question is equal to zero. This warning won't stop your code from working, but it does mean you don't control the colour of those pixels.