This week we continue with some programming fundamentals namely:

• arrays and array lists
• “for” loops
• functions and scope
• classes
• libraries

Aims and Objectives

This session is once again designed to be as “ground up” as possible within the restraints of time. We will focus more on the tricky bits that are likely to trip people up when working alone. Although it’s really tempting to jump straight in and start working with images, text, movies or libraries my intention is to try and get people towards the stage where they will be better equipped to use processing more creatively/independently.

Arrays and array lists

//ArrayExample

Arrays are a way of storing sets or lists of data of any type. They have a finite size which you can find by adding .length to the end of your variable like this:

println(myArray.length);

The reference number which tells you which part of the array (element) we are looking at is the index which you can find between square brackets:

in myArray[5] the “5″ refers to the 6th element in the array because arrays start at zero which can be confusing!

For loops – (iteration) Details »

Housekeeping

• Results from your sensor walk assignments
• Questions from Arduino assignments – anything you’d like to show us, talk about?  You should have…

Rationale

Today will be a quite practical session – looking at the input and output options for your Arduino systems.  We’ll also go through some tips and trips for programming with Arduino.

From Last Week

• Go through the Arduino_SecondExamples.zip – what’s going on in there…
• We’ll develop a few more practical examples in class

Details »

Housekeeping

• Results from your technology analysis assignments
• Questions from Arduino assignments – anything you’d like to show us, talk about?  You should have…
  • Tried examples on the Arduino site of…
    • Blking an LED
    • Reading in a sensor and reading it to the serial port
    • Having the sensor input change the brightness of the LED
    • EXAMPLES FROM CLASS: Arduino_FirstExamples.zip
  • Read:
    • Paul Verilio @ Vice Magazine
      • “The invention of the ship was also the invention of the shipwreck.”
      • Robustness / delicateness of systems: “So you go from the plane that can go really fast to the plane that can’t fly at all.”
      • “I believe that you must appreciate technology just like art.”
      • On valuing perhaps subtly different forms of innovation – 4chan founder
      • Speed and evolutions – swift animals usually have large eyes
    • McLuhan Understanding Media (Chapter 4 – The Gadget Lover)

Rationale

Today we’ll look at what is happening underneath the hood of the Arduino a little – how it represents and processes “the world.”

As well, we’ll look at some further elements you should know about for control of and measurement in your projects.

From Last Week

• What is happening when we ask the Arduino to ‘blink’?
• Analog = Analogous
  • Hold hands!
  • The squeezing of a hand… –> Drawing on the board
  • What are the characteristics of this (instantaneous/atemporal, subjective)?
• More than one link in the chain…
  • Transferring a signal between more than one person
  • What about long distances (or even short distances accurately)?
  • What would be a better way to do this?What are the characteristics of this (synchronous, memory based, objective)?

Details »

Housekeeping

• Meet n’ Greet tonight at the Trent House
• Main schedule is here
• Go over the module handbook – dms8002_handbook_doing_051011.pdf
• Talk about expectations/goals (Richard, Brigitta, Culture Lab researchers)
• Delivery style and pace
• This blog – Your blog (Richard Bate)
• Our extensive use of Wikipedia on these notes is emphatically intentional – you are the best people to be engaging with a new shared conception of knowledge and fact (correct mistakes! help generate our posteriori reality! join the conversation!)

Rationale

So. This class iis about creative reflections on technology, and using technology. We’re not necessarily always interested in the ‘right way’ to do things, in terms of commercial production, or how the manual tells you to use software, etc. We are, however, interested in looking critically at tools, their use, and the assumptions and values they embody.

Most generally – the approach we’ll take in this class is about establishing a playful relationship with technology. Something akin to playing with physical materials – an outlook that speaks of having some understanding of the fact that there is no technical difference between the ‘digital’ and ‘analog’… It’s all the same damn world, the same “reality.”

Details »

Housekeeping

• Review projects from Lalya’s pound store challenge

Rationale: This week will look at basic Processing scripts… for getting a single piece, then more than one piece of info into and out of Processing. We will also have a bit of background about communication protocols and how different ones work. Details »

Housekeeping

• Assignments from previous week
• Prior readings: “What Do Prototypes Prototype?” – Stephanie Houde and Charles Hill [PDF]
  “Experience Prototyping” – Marion Buchenau and Jane Fulton Suri [PDF]
• Bring scrap from your local 1-Pound shop (do not spend more than £3!) Details »

Housekeeping

• Results from your technology analysis assignments
• Questions from Arduino assignments – anything you’d like to show us, talk about?

Rationale

Today we’ll look at what is happening underneath the hood of the Arduino a little – how it represents and processes “the world.”

As well, we’ll look at some further elements you should know about for control of and measurement in your projects.

From Last Week

• Analog = Analogous
  • Hold hands!
  • The squeezing of a hand… –> Drawing on the board
  • What are the characteristics of this (instantaneous/atemporal, subjective)? Details »

Housekeeping

• Go over the module handbook
• Talk about expectations/goals (work load and help – Me! Bren! Hi Joey and Tom!)
• Delivery style and pace
• This blog – Your blog
• Our extensive use of Wikipedia on these notes is emphatically intentional – you are the best people to be engaging with a new shared conception of knowledge and fact (correct mistakes! help generate our a posteriori reality! join the conversation!)

Rationale

So. This class iis about creative reflections on technology, and using technology. We’re not necessarily always interested in the ‘right way’ to do things, in terms of commercial production, or how the manual tells you to use software, etc. We are, however, interested in looking critically at tools, their use, and the assumptions and values they embody.

Most generally – the approach we’ll take in this class is about establishing a playful relationship with technology. Something akin to playing with physical materials – an outlook that speaks of having some understanding of the fact that there is no technical difference between the ‘digital’ and ‘analog’… It’s all the same damn world, the same “reality.” Details »

Housekeeping

Rationale

Special guest – Guy Schofield! Real time 3-D is an obvious area of interest for us – there are many off-line 3D authoring environments (processor speeds, design pipelines), but increasingly there are a number of realtime responsive solutions and production pipelines. We’ll look at a few approaches to real-time interactive 3D today, as well as the use of modeling software and 3D models in a few standard packages. Details »

Housekeeping

Rationale

Last week we took a quick look at the Arduino basically works – this week we’ll look at a few extensions of the project, that allow for communication via MIDI and Wireless comms. These are optionally to be used for your final exhibition piece in the class. Please WORK on this and ask me questions via email over the next weeks.

Also note that although we can support networking objects to a certain extent – they are VERY difficult to get working on campus… So if your project presentation needs to happen here, you should probably ‘demostrate’ that net-workability via some other mechanism (2 way communication using serial, for example – or setting up your own network). Details »

Housekeeping

Rationale

So far in this module we’ve looked at the capabilities of a couple of in-computer systems for multimedia (Max/MSP and Processing). These are powerful environments for the manipulation of data, and as we’ve seen we can use them to get input from the real world.

The device we’ve been using for this (the Arduino board) is actually capable of a whole host of other things… on it’s own!

Why do we care about the physical world? Details »

• Arduino + MaxMSP – building your own protocol.  If you understand this, you are free to use whatever system you like.  If you don’t, please make an appointment, with Joey/Tom/Bren/me.
• OMX.comp, etc. – i cannot emphasize how important this is!
• Jitter basics – matrices, planes, dimension,

• WHAT IS THIS TOOL DOING TO US?   ‘We Make Our Tools And They Shape Us’ – Mcluhan… What are your embedded assumptions/frustrations you have with Max/MSP? Details »

• Irritating driver issues – Network Settings in OSX for your arduino
  (check these if you’re having trouble)
• Resolution!
• 8bit numbers – what goes down your USB cable – Why do we care?
• The simple protocol we attempted to develop last class – 255, 254 as headers
• We have a 10-bit ADC, so we should use all 10 bits!
• ASCII protocol – the down deep dirty version of SMS, PDuino, FIRMATA.
  (I want you to understand this, not just use it, so please spend some time on it, or with me, if need be.  It will make you powerful, I swear.)
• Little issues around file naming, groove~, buffer~, formats, etc.
• Tips and Tricks:  VST~ object, omx. objects, installing externals for sound analysis, granular synthesis, et Details »

• Perhaps worth highlighting again:
  • ABSTRACTION (mechanical, electronic, digital) –> signals as abstraction (bandwidth) –> sampling –> resolution –> computer numbers –> programming
  • “sampling” theoretically and “analog to digital conversion” in electronics (Nyquist)
  • Frequency, Period and Wavelength – high and low frequency and such
  • Another non-monkey number set – HEX (HEX FIEND) Details »

Housekeeping

• Next module meeting – NOVEMBER 3rd – 2PM
  
• Go over the module handbook
• Talk about expectations/goals (work load and help – Me!  Bren!  Hi Joey and Tom!)
• Delivery style and pace
• This blog, your blog
• Extra sessions after most classes – not today! (usually 4:30-8:00PM, Bren also scheduled to be available for some of this time)
• Our extensive use of Wikipedia on these notes is emphatically intentional – you are the best people to be engaging with a new shared conception of knowledge and fact (correct mistakes! help generate our a posteriori reality! join the conversation!) Details »

• Digitizing (sampling), bits, bytes, number systems, sampling, resolution, dynamic range, number types (bytes, integers, floating point)
• Perhaps worth highlighting again:
  • ABSTRACTION (mechanical, electronic, digital) –> signals as abstraction (bandwidth) –> sampling –> resolution –> computer numbers –> programming
  • “sampling” theoretically vs. “analog to digital conversion” in electronics – theory vs. practice
  • Frequency, Period and Wavelength – high frequency and low frequency
  • Another non-monkey number set – HEX (HEX FIEND)
  • Indexing from zero – zero may not be a thing, but it is a position!
• Programming, program flow, mince pies – PROCEDURALITY
• Questions about any of that? Details »