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Intro to Computational Media (Fall 2016)

Listserv

p5.js

This year we are using p5.js, a JavaScript framework for creative coding. Check out the new web editor for p5.js.

Section specific info

office hours, scheduling, and contact info

Homework Wikis

Mimi, Tuesday, 12:10-2:40: Homework
Shiffman, Thursday, 9:00-11:30: Homework
Allison, Thursday, 12:10-2:40: Homework
Shawn, Thursday, 12:10-2:40: Homework
Dano, Thursday, 3:20-5:50: Homework
Allison, Thursday, 3:20-5:50: Homework
Shiffman, Thursday, 3:20-5:50: Homework

Videos

Kadenze course
Shiffman YouTube playlist. The videos on YouTube display skippable ads. If you would like downloadable, non-ad versions of the videos, please contact Dan.

Books

Make: Getting Started with p5.js: Making Interactive Graphics in JavaScript and Processing is probably your best bet for now if you are looking for a book.
If you are interested in some supplemental reading on HTML and CSS, The HTML & CSS book is a nice one.

Example Code

Extra Help

Research Resident Office Hours
Cassie Office Hours -- (Cassie is the lead developer of the p5.js web editor so bring your bugs and questions about that!)
ICM Help Sessions:
Wednesdays 4-6pm in Room 15 w/ Craig & Kat
Fridays 1:30-2:30pm in Room 20 w/ Cici & Yining

Inspirational Projects

Help contribute to this wiki!

Resources

p5.js reference

p5.js forum
p5.js tutorials
Getting Started with p5.js - O'Reilly book
Intro to Visual Programming with p5.js - online video tutorials (free with signup)

There are many additional resources on the Resources wiki page.

Syllabus

1 -- Introduction and Drawing

What is computational media?
- What is programming?
- How can I apply programming to _____________?
- As a ____________, why would I want or need to write software?
- Example projects.
Programming language discussion
- General discussion of programming languages
- History of creative coding frameworks
  - Processing and p5.js (and what's processing.js?): What is p5.js video
  - openframeworks, cinder
  - max/msp dataflow programming
  - How does arduino fit in?
p5.js in the context of the browser
- Landscape of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- Other JS frameworks
- Server-side vs. client-side
- What is the difference between p5 and JavaScript?
Participating in an open-source community
- What are git and github?
- When should you post to a forum vs. file a github issue?
- Who makes these things?
- p5.js working group mailing list
Getting started, your first program
- Drawing with numbers: video tutorial
- Shape and color functions: video tutorial
- setup() and draw()
- p5.js reference
<a id="optional-1">Optional viewing / reading:</a>
- Pick an Eyeo Talk that looks interesting
- Introductory p5.js videos
- FORM+CODE: Introduction and What is Code?
- As We May Think, Vannevar Bush
- Long Live the Web, Tim Berners-Lee

2 -- Animation

Program flow (what's a function?)
- Setup, draw, and other events
- Variation: mouseX and mouseY
- video tutorial
More about variables
- make your own variables (numbers and strings), video tutorial
- JS objects (variables inside variables), video tutorial
random(), video tutorial
map(), video tutorial
Transformations
- translate(), rotate(), scale(), push(), pop()
Examples

3 -- Interaction

Conditional Statements
- Boolean expressions
- if statement
- relational operators
- video tutorial
- Case study, bouncing ball: video tutorial
- else, else if, AND, OR video tutorial
- boolean variables video tutorial
- buttons, rollovers, switches
Loops (while and for)
- while and for video tutorial
- nested loops video tutorial
Examples
- Motion
  - bouncing ball
  - 10PRINT
- GUI

4 -- Functions: the basics

Calling vs. defining
Modularity: video
- bouncing ball with functions example
Arguments and parameters
- dice no functions example
- dice w/ functions example
Re-usability: video
- robots from Getting Started
Return types: video
- implementing distance function example
Recursion
- recursion
Functions inside objects: video
- bouncing ball object literal
- bouncing ball constructor function
Optional Readings:
- Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Walter Benjamin

5 -- Objects and Arrays

Review object literals:
- properties - name/value pairs
- functions inside objects
- this keyword
Constructor function! video tutorial 6.4
- Two Gravity Ball Objects
What is an array? video tutorial 6.1
- declaring, initializing
- numeric indices
- A Snake Following the Mouse
- arrays and for loops: video tutorial 6.2
- length property
An array of objects! video tutorial 6.3
- Interactive Stripes
Adding and deleting from an array, push() and splice() video tutorial. 6.5
- MousePressed Adding New Gravity Ball Objects
Multiple JS files video tutorial 6.6
Clicking on objects video tutorial 6.7
- An Array of Buttons
Checking objects intersecting with other objects video tutorial 6.9, video tutorial 6.10
- Checking Objects Intersection
loading images for objects video tutorial 6.11
- MousePressed Adding New Images
Optional quiz to test your knowledge

6 -- Synthesis -- All sections meet Friday, October 7, 11am-2pm!

Meet in the ITP Lounge
Bring your Arduino
Pizza will be served
All details here
Serial input with a callback workshop
"Physical Variable"

7 -- DOM: events and callback function

Review events -- mousePressed, keyPressed

All video tutorials

Tutorial: Beyond the Canvas, using p5.dom
Tutorial: Intro to HTML/CSS basics
DOM elements - p5.dom reference
- createP()
- createButton()
- createSlider()
Callbacks
- button.mousePressed(callback);
style() -- low key intro to CSS
CSS Reference

11 -- Other Topics + Final Project Proposals

See your individual section's proposal schedule on your wiki
Possible topics
- more on pixels
- more on data
- setTimeout, setInterval
- WebGL - tutorial

12 -- Beyond p5.js + Final Project Proposals

See your individual section's proposal schedule on your wiki
Life beyond p5.js
- Take ICM into the spring semester courses
- Other JS libraries?
- Coding outside the p5 IDE? (local server tutorial), video tutorial
- More HTML/CSS
- What is server side programming for?
  - Database a service controlled by p5.js client.
  - web sockets for real-time communcation
  - Basics of node, making an API in Node
- Processing
- Open source
  - How do artists make and adapt tools for themselves and their communities, like Processing, p5.js, openFrameworks, etc?
- How do you get involved with this?

13 -- One on one speed user testing / feedback

This week you will "user test" your project with fellow classmates. You must have some implementation that you can test completed by this time. User testing can mean different things for different projects. For a game, it can mean that the user tries to play it. For an art piece, it could mean showing it to a classmate and asking for them to say what they think it is about or how it made them feel. We'll show projects in a "one on one" / round robin / speed dating-style session. 5 minutes then switch. You cannot not explain your project, just show and let the user try it and give you feedback. Then you can answer questions. User testing schedule will be provided on a wiki.

14 -- Final Project Presentations

Please add your link to your final project documentation on your section's wiki.

Policies

Evaluation

Grades will be determined according to the following breakdown:

Regular Assignments 40%
Participation and Attendance 40%
Final Project 20%

Please see ITP's statement on Pass/Fail which states that a "Pass" is equivalent to an "A" or a "B" while anything less would be considered a "Fail".

We will have weekly assignments that are relevant to material from the previous class. These assignments are required and you should be prepared to show/talk about them in class. It is expected that everyone in the class will create and maintain a blog for their assignments.

Attendance is mandatory. Please inform your teacher via email if you are going to miss a class. Two unexcused absences is cause for failing the class. (An unexcused lateness of 10 minutes or more is equivalent to 1/2 an absence.)

This class will be participatory, you are expected to participate in discussions and give feedback to other students both in class and participate with their projects. This (along with attendance) is 40% of your grade.

Class will culminate with final projects. You are expected to push your abilities to produce something that utilizes what you have learned in the class that is useful in some manner to yourself or the world. This will comprise 20% of your grade.

Mantras By James

"Practice is the best of all instructors." - computation requires practice
"An agreeable companion on a journey is as good as a carriage." - look to your classmates for help too
"While we stop to think, we often miss our opportunity." - sometimes you need to take a leap of faith
"When two do the same thing, it is not the same thing after all." - encourage students with similar ideas
"The bow too tensely strung is easily broken." - don't get too stressed out
All of these are from Plubius Syrus.(42 B.C.)