Quick and simple implementation of Perlin Noise algorithm in 1D, 2D, and 3D in C++11 with no external dependencies. This code may be easily used by simply including the header into any project along with a DB_PERLIN_IMPL definition. All relevant code is written as a small set of pure functions that work with both floats and doubles.

I wrote this with the primary goal of having a bit of fun and learning more about the famous algorithm used everywhere in procedural generation. Ultimately, my goal was to use this implementation in several other projects (it's always good to have a noise generator lying around). I hope it could be useful to other people, too!

If you're familiar with stb libraries, there is nothing new to learn here: simply copy the entire db_perlin.hpp file somewhere in your project and provide exactly one definition of DB_PERLIN_IMPL in a source file before including the header. You may create a dedicated file to serve as the implementation:

// file: db_perlin.cpp

#define DB_PERLIN_IMPL
#include "db_perlin.hpp"

Then you may use it from other files as you normally would any header file:

// file: main.cpp

#include "db_perlin.hpp"

int main() {
    double x = /* ... */;
    double y = /* ... */;
    double z = /* ... */;
    
    double noise1D = db::perlin(x);
    double noise2D = db::perlin(x, y);
    double noise3D = db::perlin(x, y, z);
}

If you only need to use the library once you may avoid creating a dedicated implementation file and treat your program source as the implementation:

// file: main.cpp

#define DB_PERLIN_IMPL
#include "db_perlin.hpp"

int main() {
    double x = /* ... */;
    double y = /* ... */;
    double z = /* ... */;

    double noise1D = db::perlin(x);
    double noise2D = db::perlin(x, y);
    double noise3D = db::perlin(x, y, z);
}

A more detailed example is provided with this repository in examples/demo.cpp file. It is a small demonstration written with SFML that displays the 3D noise as an animated grayscale with respect to time.