The Sparkfun Guide to Processing ─ Create Interactive Art With Code

Processing is a free, beginner-friendly programming language designed to help non-programmers create interactive art with code. In Processing, you can make a masterpiece with just a simple program, and at the click of a button, the software displays your handiwork on-screen for instant feedback.

The SparkFun Guide to Processing teaches you to craft your own digital artwork and even combine it with hardware—no prior programming experience required. Over the course of the book, you'll learn the basics by drawing simple shapes, move on to photo editing and video manipulation, and ultimately affect the physical world by using Processing with an Arduino.

Work through an array of projects that increase steadily in complexity to:

• Animate an abstract clock that changes color with the time of day
• Tint, rotate, and translate photos to create a digital collage
• Write a maze game that you can play with a Makey Makey
• Create a weather dashboard with live data scraped from the Web
• Build an Arduino-based lamp that reacts to Processing data

Derek Runberg works in the Department of Education at SparkFun Electronics, where he develops curriculum and materials for workshops and classrooms alike. Before joining SparkFun, Derek taught a middle school technology course centered on Processing and Arduino.