All aboard The Coding Train! This beginner-friendly creative coding tutorial is designed to grow your skills in a fun, hands-on way as you build simulations of real-world phenomena with “The Coding Train” YouTube star Daniel Shiffman. What if you could re-create the awe-inspiring flocking patterns of birds or the hypnotic dance of fireflies—with code? For over a decade, The Nature of Code has empowered countless readers to do just that, bridging the gap between creative expression and programming. This innovative guide by Daniel Shiffman, creator of the beloved Coding Train, welcomes budding and seasoned programmers alike into a world where code meets playful creativity. This JavaScript-based edition of Shiffman’s groundbreaking work gently unfolds the mysteries of the natural world, turning complex topics like genetic algorithms, physics-based simulations, and neural networks into accessible and visually stunning creations. Embark on this extraordinary adventure with projects involving: A physics engine: Simulate the push and pull of gravitational attraction. Flocking birds: Choreograph the mesmerizing dance of a flock. Branching trees: Grow lifelike and organic tree structures. Neural networks: Craft intelligent systems that learn and adapt. Cellular automata: Uncover the magic of self-organizing patterns. Evolutionary algorithms: Play witness to natural selection in your code. Shiffman’s work has transformed thousands of curious minds into creators, breaking down barriers between science, art, and technology, and inviting readers to see code not just as a tool for tasks but as a canvas for boundless creativity. Whether you’re deciphering the elegant patterns of natural phenomena or crafting your own digital ecosystems, Shiffman’s guidance is sure to inform and inspire. The Nature of Code is not just about coding; it’s about looking at the natural world in a new way and letting its wonders inspire your next creation. Dive in and discover the joy of turning code into art—all while mastering coding fundamentals along the way. NOTE: All examples are written with p5.js, a JavaScript library for creative coding, and are available on the book's website.

How can we capture the unpredictable evolutionary and emergent properties of nature in software? How can understanding the mathematical principles behind our physical world help us to create digital worlds? This book focuses on a range of programming strategies and techniques behind computer simulations of natural systems, from elementary concepts in mathematics and physics to more advanced algorithms that enable sophisticated visual results. Readers will progress from building a basic physics engine to creating intelligent moving objects and complex systems, setting the foundation for further experiments in generative design. Subjects covered include forces, trigonometry, fractals, cellular automata, self-organization, and genetic algorithms. The book's examples are written in Processing, an open-source language and development environment built on top of the Java programming language. On the book's website (http: //www.natureofcode.com), the examples run in the browser via Processing's JavaScript mode.

Learning Processing, Second Edition, is a friendly start-up guide to Processing, a free, open-source alternative to expensive software and daunting programming languages. Requiring no previous experience, this book is for the true programming beginner. It teaches the basic building blocks of programming needed to create cutting-edge graphics applications including interactive art, live video processing, and data visualization. Step-by-step examples, thorough explanations, hands-on exercises, and sample code, supports your learning curve.A unique lab-style manual, the book gives graphic and web designers, artists, and illustrators of all stripes a jumpstart on working with the Processing programming environment by providing instruction on the basic principles of the language, followed by careful explanations of select advanced techniques. The book has been developed with a supportive learning experience at its core. From algorithms and data mining to rendering and debugging, it teaches object-oriented programming from the ground up within the fascinating context of interactive visual media.This book is ideal for graphic designers and visual artists without programming background who want to learn programming. It will also appeal to students taking college and graduate courses in interactive media or visual computing, and for self-study. - A friendly start-up guide to Processing, a free, open-source alternative to expensive software and daunting programming languages - No previous experience required—this book is for the true programming beginner! - Step-by-step examples, thorough explanations, hands-on exercises, and sample code supports your learning curve

Generative design is a revolutionary new method of creating artwork, models, and animations from sets of rules, or algorithms. By using accessible programming languages such as Processing, artists and designers are producing extravagant, crystalline structures that can form the basis of anything from patterned textiles and typography to lighting, scientific diagrams, sculptures, films, and even fantastical buildings. Opening with a gallery of thirty-five illustrated case studies, Generative Design takes users through specific, practical instructions on how to create their own visual experiments by combining simple-to-use programming codes with basic design principles. A detailed handbook of advanced strategies provides visual artists with all the tools to achieve proficiency. Both a how-to manual and a showcase for recent work in this exciting new field, Generative Design is the definitive study and reference book that designers have been waiting for.

The authors examine software from a spatial perspective, analyzing the dyadic relationship of software & space. The production of space, they argue, is increasingly dependent on code, & code is written to produce space.

Processing: Creative Coding and Generative Art in Processing 2 is a fun and creative approach to learning programming. Using the easy to learn Processing programming language, you will quickly learn how to draw with code, and from there move to animating in 2D and 3D. These basics will then open up a whole world of graphics and computer entertainment. If you’ve been curious about coding, but the thought of it also makes you nervous, this book is for you; if you consider yourself a creative person, maybe worried programming is too non-creative, this book is also for you; if you want to learn about the latest Processing 2.0 language release and also start making beautiful code art, this book is also definitely for you. You will learn how to develop interactive simulations, create beautiful visualizations, and even code image-manipulation applications. All this is taught using hands-on creative coding projects. Processing 2.0 is the latest release of the open-source Processing language, and includes exciting new features, such as OpenGL 2 support for enhanced 3D graphics performance. Processing: Creative Coding and Generative Art in Processing 2 is designed for independent learning and also as a primary text for an introductory computing class. Based on research funded by the National Science Foundation, this book brings together some of the most engaging and successful approaches from the digital arts and computer science classrooms. Teaches you how to program using a fun and creative approach. Covers the latest release of the Processing 2.0 language. Presents a research based approach to learning computing.

You need to get value from your software project. You need it "free, now, and perfect." We can't get you there, but we can help you get to "cheaper, sooner, and better." This book leads you from the desire for value down to the specific activities that help good Agile projects deliver better software sooner, and at a lower cost. Using simple sketches and a few words, the author invites you to follow his path of learning and understanding from a half century of software development and from his engagement with Agile methods from their very beginning. The book describes software development, starting from our natural desire to get something of value. Each topic is described with a picture and a few paragraphs. You're invited to think about each topic; to take it in. You'll think about how each step into the process leads to the next. You'll begin to see why Agile methods ask for what they do, and you'll learn why a shallow implementation of Agile can lead to only limited improvement. This is not a detailed map, nor a step-by-step set of instructions for building the perfect project. There is no map or instructions that will do that for you. You need to build your own project, making it a bit more perfect every day. To do that effectively, you need to build up an understanding of the whole process. This book points out the milestones on your journey of understanding the nature of software development done well. It takes you to a location, describes it briefly, and leaves you to explore and fill in your own understanding. What You Need: You'll need your Standard Issue Brain, a bit of curiosity, and a desire to build your own understanding rather than have someone else's detailed ideas poured into your head.