Jump to content

Display hack

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by TuukkaH (talk | contribs) at 11:10, 29 April 2006 (add image, links). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
A still image from the famous munching squares display hack.

A display hack is a computer program with similar purpose to a kaleidoscope: to make pretty pictures (symmetrical or otherwise). Famous display hacks include munching squares and smoking clover. Some display hacks can be also implemented by creating text files which contain numerous escape sequences for a text terminal to interpret. A famous example on the VT100 terminal displayed a Christmas tree, with twinkling lights and a toy train circling its base. The XScreenSaver software contains a large collection of X Window System and OpenGL display hacks.

Display hacks programmed by software crackers for the home computers of the 1980's came to be known as demos and demo effects. The creation of demos later became a subculture of its own, now known as the demoscene.

Stub icon

This software article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Display_hack&oldid=50723527"