# Flipper¶

Flipper is a program for computing the action of mapping classes on laminations on punctured surfaces using ideal triangulation coordinates. It can decide the Nielsen–Thurston type of a given mapping class and, for pseudo-Anosov mapping classes, construct a layered, veering triangulation of their mapping torus, as described by Agol.

Flipper officially supports Python 3.6 – 3.8. It also runs on PyPy and Sage. To get the best performance, ensure that cypari or cypari2 is installed or run from it within Sage.

## Quickstart¶

Flipper is available on PyPI, so it can be installed via:

\$ pip install flipper --user --upgrade


Once installed, try it inside of Python:

>>> import flipper
>>> h = S('a.b.C')
>>> h.is_pseudo_anosov()
True
>>> print(h.dilatation())
2.296630262


## The User Guide¶

This part of the documentation, which is mostly prose, begins with some background information about Flipper, then focuses on step-by-step instructions for getting the most out of Flipper.

## The API Documentation¶

If you are looking for information on a specific function, class, or method, this part of the documentation is for you.

## The Contributor Guide¶

If you want to contribute to the project, this part of the documentation is for you.

There are no more guides. You are now guideless. Good luck.