Recamán arcs in C
A complete program. Standard C, a compiler, and the rule behind the shape.

Run it in three steps.
- Save the source.
Download recaman.c into a folder on your computer.
- Compile it.
In that folder, run this with GCC or Clang:
cc -std=c11 -O2 recaman.c -lm -o recaman - Make the image.
./recamanOpen
recaman.svgin a browser to see the result.
On Windows with GCC, name the executable recaman.exe and run it from the same folder.
How the picture is built
Starting at zero, at step n subtract n if the result is positive and has not appeared. Otherwise add n. Draw alternating semicircles joining consecutive values, with each diameter exactly n before scaling.
Make it your own
STEPS=160. Try 80 or 300. A uniform fit preserves circular arcs and keeps their heights in the viewport.
A forward addition is allowed to revisit an earlier value; only backward moves undergo the no-repeat test. The search for earlier values is quadratic and uses int arithmetic, so keep STEPS modest. Each run produces one image; use Graphic mode for the interactive animation.
/* Arithmos: recaman
* Compile: cc -std=c11 -O2 recaman.c -lm -o recaman
* Run: ./recaman
* Output: recaman.svg (open this file in a browser)
* Optional output path: ./recaman my-image.svg
* Edit the constants in draw() to explore another case.
*/
#include <math.h>
#include <stdint.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
static FILE *nt_out;
#define NT_PI 3.14159265358979323846
/* The small SVG writer keeps this program free of graphics dependencies.
* Coordinates are pixels on a 1000 x 700 drawing surface.
* t runs from 0 to 1 through mint, blue, rose, and gold.
*/
static inline void nt_color(double t, char hex[8]) {
const double stops[4][3] = {
{91,227,201}, {128,146,240}, {218,138,220}, {244,200,127}
};
t = fmax(0.0, fmin(1.0,t)) * 3.0;
int band = (int)fmin(2.0,floor(t));
double blend = t - band;
int r[3];
for (int k=0;k<3;k++) r[k]=(int)lround(stops[band][k]*(1.0-blend)+stops[band+1][k]*blend);
snprintf(hex,8,"#%02x%02x%02x",r[0],r[1],r[2]);
}
static inline void nt_line(double x,double y,double X,double Y,double t,double alpha,double width) {
char color[8];nt_color(t,color);
fprintf(nt_out,"<path d=\"M%.3f %.3f L%.3f %.3f\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"%s\" stroke-opacity=\"%.3f\" stroke-width=\"%.3f\"/>\n",x,y,X,Y,color,alpha,width);
}
static inline void nt_dot(double x,double y,double r,double t,double alpha) {
char color[8];nt_color(t,color);
fprintf(nt_out,"<circle cx=\"%.3f\" cy=\"%.3f\" r=\"%.3f\" fill=\"%s\" fill-opacity=\"%.3f\"/>\n",x,y,r,color,alpha);
}
static inline void nt_circle(double x,double y,double r,double t,double alpha,double width) {
char color[8];nt_color(t,color);
fprintf(nt_out,"<circle cx=\"%.3f\" cy=\"%.3f\" r=\"%.3f\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"%s\" stroke-opacity=\"%.3f\" stroke-width=\"%.3f\"/>\n",x,y,r,color,alpha,width);
}
static inline void nt_rect(double x,double y,double w,double h,double t,double alpha) {
char color[8];nt_color(t,color);
fprintf(nt_out,"<rect x=\"%.3f\" y=\"%.3f\" width=\"%.3f\" height=\"%.3f\" fill=\"%s\" fill-opacity=\"%.3f\"/>\n",x,y,w,h,color,alpha);
}
static inline void nt_text(double x,double y,const char *text) {
fprintf(nt_out,"<text x=\"%.3f\" y=\"%.3f\" fill=\"#ededf3\" font-family=\"monospace\" font-size=\"16\">",x,y);
for (;*text;text++) {
if (*text=='&') fputs("&",nt_out);
else if (*text=='<') fputs("<",nt_out);
else if (*text=='>') fputs(">",nt_out);
else fputc(*text,nt_out);
}
fputs("</text>\n",nt_out);
}
static inline int nt_gcd(int a,int b) {a=abs(a);b=abs(b);while(b){int r=a%b;a=b;b=r;}return a;}
static inline int nt_prime(int n) {if(n<2)return 0;for(int d=2;d<=n/d;d++)if(n%d==0)return 0;return 1;}
/* Recaman: subtract the step number if the result is positive and unseen;
otherwise add it. Forward moves CAN repeat. Edit STEPS. */
static void draw(void) {
enum { STEPS=160 };int a[STEPS+1];a[0]=0;int maximum=0;
for(int n=1;n<=STEPS;++n) {
int back=a[n-1]-n,allowed=back>0;
for(int j=0;j<n&&allowed;++j)if(a[j]==back)allowed=0;
a[n]=allowed?back:a[n-1]+n;if(a[n]>maximum)maximum=a[n];
}
double scale=fmin(900.0/fmax(1,maximum),560.0/STEPS),left=500-maximum*scale/2;
nt_line(50,340,950,340,.1,.2,1);
for(int n=1;n<=STEPS;++n) {
double x1=left+fmin(a[n-1],a[n])*scale,x2=left+fmax(a[n-1],a[n])*scale;
double radius=(x2-x1)/2;char color[8];nt_color(n/(double)STEPS,color);
/* From left to right: SVG sweep 0 gives the lower semicircle. */
fprintf(nt_out,"<path d=\"M%.4f 340 A%.4f %.4f 0 0 %d %.4f 340\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"%s\" stroke-opacity=\".76\" stroke-width=\"1.15\"/>\n",
x1,radius,radius,n%2==0?1:0,x2,color);
}
nt_text(50,675,"Arc diameter at step n equals n. The no-repeat test applies only to backward moves.");
}
int main(int argc, char **argv) {
if (argc > 2) {
fprintf(stderr, "Usage: %s [OUTPUT.svg]\n", argv[0]);
return EXIT_FAILURE;
}
const char *filename = argc == 2 ? argv[1] : "recaman.svg";
nt_out = fopen(filename, "wb");
if (!nt_out) { perror(filename); return EXIT_FAILURE; }
fputs("<svg xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\" width=\"1000\" height=\"700\" viewBox=\"0 0 1000 700\">\n"
"<rect width=\"1000\" height=\"700\" fill=\"#171721\"/>\n", nt_out);
draw();
fputs("</svg>\n", nt_out);
int failed = ferror(nt_out);
if (fclose(nt_out) != 0) failed = 1;
if (failed) { fputs("Could not finish writing the image.\n", stderr); return EXIT_FAILURE; }
printf("Wrote %s\n", filename);
return EXIT_SUCCESS;
}