ImageCalc

If you're looking for an impressive image display app that continuously updates, look no further than ImageCalc. With this app, the image is calculated in a separate thread, featuring a black & white triangle that transforms into a random pattern of grey pixels.

One standout feature is the ability to adjust calculation parameters via a slider that updates the image in real-time, even while the user is moving the slider around. In addition, users can access statistics on the display and calculation update rates via the Window menu.

What's particularly impressive about ImageCalc is its use of the Cocoa API, which provides a number of unique features for Mac OS X programming. With this app, you get a taste of several aspects of Cocoa, including:

- Calculation in a separate thread
- Synchronizing use of shared variables via NSLock
- Image drawing using NSBitmapImageRep in a subclass of NSView
- Regular display updates via NSTimer
- Using NSEventTrackingRunLoopMode to get timer events while the mouse is down
- Handling window resizing via inLiveResize
- Handling model size constraints when resizing
- Auxiliary information displayed in an NSDrawer

All in all, ImageCalc is an impressive app that's well worth exploring. Keep in mind that to build the app from source, you'll need Xcode.