Month: March 2018

This is my first big project that I did in this class by myself. I took the idea from the eight ball that I used to play with as a kid, and basically tried to digitize the same process. After reading few chapters in our assigned reading, I realized that I should’ve done something more original and creative. Processing is a great way to be creative, and express it in an unique way that is quite different than other forms of art.

I also wish that I organized my code a bit more, I realized that if I don’t take time organizing my code when I first write it, it is going to get complicated in the far run. A great way to organize code is using different classes and also using arrays. After being almost one with my code, I realized that I can make my code simpler and more organized by taking some things out and separating them into its own class. When I did so, I was able to go through my code easier.

These chapters have really made me reconsider how I approach coding in Processing. If I had first approached what I wanted to do step-by-step and simplifying it, I would have an easier time laying out my code. The way I went along my midterm is simply work with conceptions floating around my head and trying to code off of that. However, upon reflection, there were many times that I was stuck because I did not know how to approach a problem. Other times, I would have progress accomplishing a certain task until I realize that the way I was going about doing it would not work out later on, then I have to scrap the work and try the other method. If I had laid out my idea, wrote pseudo-code, I would have a much clearer understanding of what code would work. I would have saved a lot of time. This goes for the debugging section too. I rarely used println, and I realize I could’ve to really see what was going wrong. I wholly agree with getting someone else involved. When I went to a tutor to look at my code when it wasn’t working, simply the process of me explaining it to him made me realize where I could be going wrong.

After reading these chapters, I’ve been reminded about one of the most important concepts of coding, algorithms.  I’m not the most visually creative person, so sometimes my processing sketches could be very one dimensional and not very impressive. But after reading this, I am going to try to implement my sketches in a more algorithmic style and have the algorithm behave based on user interaction.

For this one,

I was seating and thinking about what I am going to do. I just started to try to put image into background using code. I had to figure how I need to do. So, I searched processing site, and finally I could completed to put image and sound.

I will try to make interaction using mouse.

I think chapter 10 of the reading really aligned with our midterm projects. For me, since I really wanted to work with classes, classes naturally had me break down my project in the way that chapter 10 advised. And so for each of my elements/functions, I would make a separate sketch and write that one element/function before copy and pasting it into the final sketch. I think this is a good way to organize everything, because it’s easy to write messy code and to get lost in it (especially when I have to refer to it again hours/days later). The only problem that would then arise would be getting everything to connect and work as one sketch. For example, when I worked on each class individually in another, I automatically set the background to another color and so when I compiled all of them into one sketch, my background wouldn’t change colors like I wanted it to because all the classes’ set backgrounds would inhibit it to. From chapter 11, I think I should definitely take more breaks, since it code can be really frustrating. Additionally, I think I should reach out for more help (whether it be another coder or office hours), since it’ll help me learn code and fix it if I talk about what I’m doing. Also it might be worthwhile to utilize the println() function more. I’ve never used it, but for more complicated sketches, it might be helpful to learn it and use it.

After reading chapters, I could learn how to approach the concept. Also, I realized there are better ways to express or represent my idea. For example, using ‘dist’ ,which was explained in chapter 10, was easier to complete intersecting with object instead of using check collision which I used for midterm project for interesting. I am happy to realize this notion. I think i’ll probably have to learn lots of way for coding to be able to do a good thing when I say what I want.

After reading chapter 10 and 11, it reiterated that I should continue some habits and that I need to improve on others. While working on the midterm, like the book said, I primarily worked on the project by breaking it up into parts. I would work on making one object at a time and making sure one worked before I tried to implement another. I also did what the book recommended; I often created new classes in separate sketches so that when I knew it was working, I would add it to the compiled sketch. I think the debugging chapter was the most helpful to me because while making my midterm sketch, it was really easy to get frustrated. Going forward, I will take more breaks from my sketch and talk through it with someone. I think since we know our code so well, problems or errors don’t stand out to us. Something the book doesn’t talk about is not breaking it down into parts, but what tools to use to make something. While working on my sketch, I wanted to make or do things, but I had no clue where to begin. It wasn’t a problem of having too many things or being overwhelmed, it was a problem of not knowing what to do whatsoever.