This application has something to offer for anyone interested in programming, game development, or computer science.
If you have never programmed before then this is a great tool to start learning. One of the first challenges that someone faces when learning to program is the struggle to set up a programming environment. Many languages and software development tools are platform specific and can be a huge pain to get started on. Our integrated development environment frees you from the confines of existing tools, allowing you to focus on learning the fundamentals of programming.Because this platform is built around the Processing language it is also a great starting point for many different fields. Learning to program with Processing will allow someone to easily transfer the skills they have acquired into web development with javascript or application development with java, and with our focus on object oriented programming you can easily begin to master many other languages.
There has never been a more interactive way to learn how to program.
If you are already a code ninja then this application still has a lot to offer. You can rapidly create graphical programs in our IDE and preview them right on your iPad! That's right. Anywhere you have access to your iPad you can exercise your creative mind.
Here is a little background on how programming using our application works.
The development environment will package your code up into a javascript file, bundle that file with the processing.js file, and display your application. If your application has an error it will not display correctly. Learning to debug your programs is an important step of learning to program and we will go over some tips to help you out.
Once you have a program that you are proud of, you can export it and save it to your iPad's spring board as a local web application! This is a great way to share you applications with your friends.
Particle Engine DemoProcessing is slightly limited on the iPad due to a lack of hardware integration and rendering power, but you can download the Processing desktop IDE and code all of the projects and lessons contained in this application on your computer. The desktop version of Processing supports the use of external libraries, and peripherals like a web camera, Arduino, and many other devices. Go to processing.org to learn more about processing and download the Processing desktop IDE.
Processing on the iPad uses the processing.js javascript extension. Using some fancy javascript we are able to extend the capabilities of processing.js and get hardware support in our applications. As you will learn in the coming chapters our development environment includes access to the iPad's accelerometer data. This means you can write games and applications that use the iPad's accelerometer as input! Click the button below to see a preview of the iPad's accelerometer in action. It helps to turn off the iPad's Autorotate feature. You can turn off Autorotate by double-clicking the Home button to open the multi-tasking bar then swiping toward the left you will see an icon that looks like an arrow forming a circle. Tap that icon to lock the screen in portrait mode. Tap it again to unlock it.