XpressFormula

XpressFormula is a Windows desktop proof-of-concept for entering and plotting mathematical expressions with an ImGui-based UI.

The app supports:

• y=f(x) 2D curves
• z=f(x,y) 3D surfaces (with optional 2D heat-map view)
• F(x,y)=0 implicit 2D equations such as x^2+y^2=100
• f(x,y,z) scalar-field cross-sections at configurable z slices
• F(x,y,z)=0 implicit 3D surfaces (e.g. spheres and torus equations)
• Auto/Force 2D/3D rendering preference with projected 3D grid-plane interleaving (z=0) for clearer depth ordering
• Plot export dialog (size/aspect, color or grayscale, background color, include/exclude grid/coordinates/wires) with .png/.bmp save and clipboard copy
• Startup/manual update checks against GitHub releases with quick link to the releases page
• Versioned binary metadata and installer packaging (.msi + setup .exe)

Screenshots

Formula View	Surface/Heatmap View

Project Goals

• Fast interactive plotting in a native C++ application
• Clear separation between parsing/evaluation logic and UI/rendering
• Simple local development workflow (Visual Studio, VS Code, CLI)
• Solid unit/integration test coverage for core math and transform logic

Requirements

• Windows 10/11
• Visual Studio 2022/2026 with C++ workload
• Windows SDK (10.0+)

Quick Start

Use the detailed guide:

• doc/run-guide.md

Common path:

1. Build Debug|x64
2. Run src\x64\Debug\XpressFormula.exe
3. Run tests with src\x64\Debug\XpressFormula.Tests.exe

Repository Layout

• src/XpressFormula application code
• src/XpressFormula.Tests test runner and tests
• src/vendor/imgui vendored Dear ImGui
• doc project documentation
• shared VS Code build/run/debug workspace configs in .vscode/ (tasks, launch, extension recommendations, IntelliSense config, minimal workspace settings; optional alternative to Visual Studio)

Documentation

• Documentation index: doc/index.md
• Run and debug guide: doc/run-guide.md
• Architecture overview: doc/architecture.md
• Math API guide (internal math abstractions and APIs): doc/math-api-guide.md
• Math API cheatsheet (quick reference + where used): doc/math-api-cheatsheet.md
• Algorithms guide (parsing/rendering/meshing): doc/algorithms-guide.md
• ImGui implementation guide (UI architecture/patterns): doc/imgui-implementation-guide.md
• Linux portability plan (ImGui/Linux migration roadmap): doc/linux-portability-plan.md
• Expression language reference: doc/expression-language.md
• Testing guide: doc/testing.md
• Release and packaging guide: doc/release-packaging.md
• Windows code signing guide (Defender/SmartScreen mitigation): doc/code-signing.md
• Vendor dependencies: doc/project-vendors.md

Third-Party Dependencies

This repository vendors Dear ImGui. See doc/project-vendors.md for source, license, and update notes.

Notes

• dotnet build is not the primary build path for this native C++ solution; use MSBuild/Visual Studio.
• In Debug builds, the app attempts to use the Direct3D debug layer and falls back when unavailable.
• Build metadata (repo URL, branch, version, commit) is shown in the application UI when provided by the build pipeline.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.