'recursor' is a visual authoring tool based on UNIX filesystem. it misplaces and interchanges the concepts of system- and visual- design, subverting files into graphical objects.

'recursor' user-interface

each file on a UNIX filesystem has a set of attributes: type, size, permissions. 'recursor' converts these alphanumeric attributes into visual properties and allows users to create drawings by traversing through the filesystem.

small yellow cubes: device nodes, grey objects: .man files, aquamarine blocks: shell scripts

text and .man files

black object: kernel file, large aquamarine: /bin/bash executable

blue blocks: root-only files

file-type (link, device node, pipe, directory) defines proportions of the graphical object, file-size defines geometrical size and file-permissions set the color.

e.g. an ordinary 64kb binary executable file with permissions 0755 (execute for the owner, read-only for the rest) will yield a purple square, approximately 300x300px big.

if the file contains plain text - that text is used to create a pattern inside the colored object. if file has execute bit set - the content of the object is the output of execution. after the object is created the user can position it on the screen using mouse.

download image of the system (2.4Gb, highly experimental!)

The X11 color scheme

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Recursor, 2007 by Danja Vasiliev is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.