My Blog: projects, sketches, works in progress, thoughts, and inspiration.
Using the time functions Processing can be used to create clocks. I enjoy making clocks as a simple exercise in design, interactivity, and simple data visualization. It’s also a horrible pastime as I am always aware of exactly how much time I’ve wasted. This demonstration will walk through creating this applet, showing the implementation of the time functions, the pushMatrix() and popMatrix() functions, modulo function (%), and the basic construction of an array of custom objects.
Like many key programming languages Processing is an Object Oriented Programming Language, sometimes referred to as an OOP. The concept might be a little bit hard to grasp for some, however, it is an invaluable tool which cuts down on script lengths and allows for far more interesting an complex programs without a lot of repetitive code. An “Object” (also called a class) is simply a collection of variables and functions. New instances of objects can be created with different values for all the variables and functions of the object can be easily executed to modify the instance. Although objects often have a graphical component or representation within a program it is important to remember that they are only collections of data and functions which can be manipulated in any way for whatever need. Another advantage is that a program, like this example, can contain arrays of objects, allowing them to all be changed within a “for loop”. The result is an elegant code which is very easy to construct and easier to edit.
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Although Processing does not have the ability to process audio on it’s own there are a few libraries which can be used to add such features. I’ve been experimenting with the ESS library but you can find others from the processing libraries page. Gathering Data from live or recorded sound can be a powerful tool for artists and designers in creating interactive applications, audio visualizers, music videos, or anything else that could involve an interaction with sound. Getting the data is fairly straight forward and the script returns an array of data updated each frame. This demonstration with display the data very simply, however, the numbers could be applied to any attribute in any system to produce different effects.
Here are the steps to creating a simple script to get the spectrum data from a microphone into a processing sketch. Using pre-recorded sound is similar. Once the data is in the sketch it can be manipulated and used to generate graphics or effect other aspects of a program including complex forms in 3d space using the OpenGL or P3D libraries. Read On »
Read On (Post Continues) »Programmers have many languages at their disposal, all of which have their strengths and weaknesses and are most useful for particular applications. However, most of them have very similar structures. In order to communicate ideas between languages, to sketch out how a program should be structured, or even to explain the function of a program to non-programmers, scripts can be written in “pseudo-code.” This is just a fancy term for fake code which mimics the structure of code in simple easily understood terms. Pseudo-Code is written to be read by humans rather than computers, but still follows certain conventions. Read On »
Read On (Post Continues) »A variation on a script I’ve been working with to generate a 3d visualization of an audio spectrum. The color and position of the first row of cubes is based on spectrum values and then passed down the array with a decay factor. Created with Processing using the OpenGL library to create the 3d environment and ESS to gather sound data.
Another variation renders a 3d grid rather than an array of cubes.
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Simple recursive functions can created complex geometric fractals. A function draws a graphic and then by calling itself any number of times creates branches in the image. Each of the branches follows the same algorithm and creates the fractal. The transformations which occur between iterations, the graphic drawn, and any other steps or even randomized algorithms within the process determine the resulting fractals structure. This video of a fractal programmed in Processing is one of the simplest geometric fractals. Each iteration produces two copies of itself at it’s end. More complex versions of such a function are used to generate trees and other structures in video games and other virtual environments. The rotations of these two branches are changed slightly each frame and the function is recalculated. Within an object oriented programming language like Processing, each iteration could also create a new object or pass values into an array allowing the data to be easily reused without re-running the entire function.
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