CPSC 120 Syllabus

Week 1: 8/31-9/4

Topics: introduction; drawing pictures with Processing

• course introduction

• Learning Processing, introduction sections "Take It One Step at a Time" and "Algorithms" (pages xv-xvii)
• Learning Processing, chapter 1

• four colored rectangles
• snowman
• in-class exercises (solutions)

• Learning Processing, sections 2.1-2.9

Week 2: 9/7-9/11

Topics: interaction and animation

• Learning Processing, chapter 3

• interactive car (active mode, mouse position, mouse clicks)
• in-class exercises (solutions: #1-2, #3, #4-5)

• Learning Processing, sections 4.1-4.4

• rising sun (animation)
• in-class exercises (#1-3 are similar to the example done in class)

Week 3: 9/14-9/18

Topics: animation and representation, abstraction and modularity

• Learning Processing, sections 4.5-4.7

• resizable sketch (using width and height)
• in-class exercises (solution for #1-2)

• Learning Processing, sections 7.1-7.6

• organization, abstraction, modularity, and functions
• functions and parameters
• in-class exercises (solutions for #2, #3, #5)

Week 4: 9/21-9/25

Topics: making choices (conditionals)

• Learning Processing, sections 5.1-5.5

• conditionals patterns - on-the-spot decisions
  • "to do or not to do" (red rect or no red rect)
  • two alternatives (red top half or red bottom half)
  • more than two alternatives (red quadrants)
  • two alternatives (reset animation when it goes offscreen)
• in-class exercises (solutions for #1, #2-3)

• Learning Processing, sections 5.6-5.7 (contrast "bouncing" with "following edge" examples in section 5.7)

• conditionals patterns - state machines
  • two states (toggle rect color white-red on mouse click)
  • more than two states (toggle rect color white-red-blue on mouse click)
  • two states (move left and right)
• in-class exercises (solutions for #1-2)

Week 5: 9/28-10/2

Topics: physically-based motion simulation

• Learning Processing, sections 5.7-5.8

• comments on lab 3
• yet another snowman (functions, parameters)
• in-class exercises

• review information
• redo information

Week 6: 10/5-10/9

Topics: constrained and random motion, fancier drawing (transformations)

• Learning Processing, sections 13.6-13.9 (this is more mathematical and some of the examples use Processing constructs like classes that we won't cover in this course - focus on the idea that you can get more complex motion by deriving x and y coordinates from some other quantity that varies, and don't worry about the details if the math is unfamiliar)

• constrained and random motion
• in-class exercises (solution for #1)

• Learning Processing, sections 14.5 and 14.7-14.8

• transformations
• in-class exercises (solution for #1-2)

Week 7: 10/12-10/16

Topics: repetition (loops)

• Learning Processing, sections 6.1-6.4

• stack of circles (one loop variable)
• diagonal stack of circles (two loop variables)
• in-class exercises (solutions for #1, #2)

• lab 5 comments

Week 8: 10/19-10/23

Topics: repetition (loops)

• Learning Processing, sections 6.5-6.7

• 100 random circles (counting loop, randomSeed)
• stack of circles, moving right (loop + animation)
• stack of circles, moving diagonally (loop + animation)
• in-class exercises (solutions for just the snowman, all of #1)

• one loop, multiple loop variables, one thing in the loop body
• one loop, one loop variable, multiple things in the loop body
• one loop, one loop variable, multiple things in the loop body
• two loops, each with one loop variable and one thing in the loop body
• nested loops (with a drawing function instead)
• two nested loops
• animation
• one loop, one loop variable, multiple things in the loop body + animation
• one loop, one loop variable, multiple things in the loop body + animation
• in-class exercises (solution for #1)

Week 9: 10/26-10/30

Topics: more of the same (arrays)

• Learning Processing, sections 9.1-9.5

• single circle (no animation, no loop)
• row of circles (no animation, loop with one variable)
• staggered row of circles (no animation, loop with multiple variables)
• single circle, falling (animation with one set of animation variables, no loop)
• row of circles, falling (animation with one set of animation variables, loop with one variable)
• staggered row of circles, falling (animation with one set of animation variables, loop with multiple variables)
• single circle, bouncing (animation with one set of animation variables, no loop)
• row of circles, bouncing (animation with one set of animation variables, loop with one variable)
• staggered row of circles, bouncing (animation with arrays, loop with multiple variables)
• in-class exercises (solutions for #1 and #2)

• lab 7 comments
• in-class exercises (solutions for #1 and #2)

• array conversion example - Monday's exercise #1 (one circle) and #2 (lots of circles), side-by-side

Week 10: 11/2-11/6

Topics: more of the same (arrays)

• Learning Processing, section 9.6

• lab 8 comments
• in-class exercises

• review information
• redo information

Week 11: 11/9-11/13

Topics: behavioral animation

• lab 9 comments
• boids and steering behaviors
• videos
  • starlings (complex group behavior in nature)
  • Stanley and Stella in: Breaking the Ice (pioneering example of boids)

• steering behaviors and behavioral animation
• videos
  • Lord of the Rings scene (example of behavioral animation)
  • artificial fish
  • how Massive works (software used in LotR): part I, part II
• boids in Processing
  • wander (one behavior)
  • wander + seek (multiple behaviors active at once)
  • wander or seek (choosing between behaviors)

Week 12: 11/16-11/20

Topics: self-similarity and fractals

• Learning Processing, section 13.10

• self-similarity and recursion
• recursion patterns
  • nested snowmen (add, one copy in the next level)
  • line of snowmen (add, two copies in the next level)
  • Sierpinski carpet (replace, four copies in the next level)
• in-class exercises (solutions for #1, #2 - "replace" pattern, and #2 - "add" pattern)

• L-systems
• implementing L-systems in Processing: Koch snowflake, plant - click to increase the depth of recursion
• in-class exercises (solution for #1) - click to increase the depth of recursion

Week 13: 11/23-11/27

Topics: applications

• particle systems

Week 14: 11/30-12/4

Topics: images

• Learning Processing, sections 15.1, 15.5-15.8

• loading and displaying images
• image filters
• sea turtle picture
• in-class exercises

• Learning Processing, section 15.10

• taking colors from an image: drawing one circle per frame, drawing lots of circles per frame
• in-class exercises

Week 15: 12/7-12/11

Topics: images - fancier filters, generating images; wrapup - principles of computer science

• convolution filters, generating images via 3D rendering (part I)
• sharpen (convolution filter example)
• generating images (texture from Perlin noise, color gradient)

• raytracing
• principles of computer science

Reading Period: 12/12-12/14

• lab 13 comments

Exams: 12/15-12/18

• review information

last updated: --Mon Dec 14 10:21:59 EST 2015--
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