"Particle System" is a term often used in computer graphics/computer programming to refer to a collection of objects ("Particles") which indivdually follow simple rules, but when combined simulate a complex system.
Various types of particle systems are often used to simulate rain, snow, explosions, fire, smoke, and many other natural and artificial or special effects.
In most cases each particle is assigned certain bits of information such as velocity, position, color, and size. There are often other outside forces which are applied to the particle system as a whole, such as wind and gravity. In more complex particle systems particles may interact with each other and the environment as well, allowing them to collide with the ground or other objects, attract or repel each other, and the like.
Pseudo-code (in broken C) for an extremely simple particle system follows:
typedef struct Particle {
float X,Y;
float XV, YV;
int color;
};
Particle particle[NUMBER_OF_PARTICLES];
void main() {
for (EACH_PARTICLE) {
particle[CURRENT_PARTICLE].X += particle[CURRENT_PARTICLE].XV;
particle[CURRENT_PARTICLE].Y += particle[CURRENT_PARTICLE].YV;
DRAW_CURRENT_PARTICLE();
}
}
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