CPSC 120 Syllabus

Week 1: 8/29-9/2

Topics: introduction; algorithms, decomposition, and incremental development; building blocks: coordinates, shapes, and colors; writing and running sketches

• slides (course info)
• handout (imagine giving instructions about how to draw the picture to someone who can't see it - or try it with a friend!)

• Learning Processing, Introduction (especially the sections "Will this be on the test?" and "Take It One Step at a Time")
• Learning Processing, sections 1.1-1.5

• slides (introduction to Processing)
• handout (basic drawing commands)
• simple drawing

• Learning Processing, sections 2.1-2.4
• Learning Processing, sections 2.8-2.9

Week 2: 9/5-9/9

Topics: creating scenes; interaction

• in-class exercises (solutions: #1, alternate version of #1 with thicker lines)

• Learning Processing, chapter 3

• slides (comments on in-class exercises)
• slides (interaction)
• rectangle following the mouse (interaction, computing coordinates)
• in-class exercises

Week 3: 9/12-9/16

Topics: animation

• Learning Processing, sections 4.1-4.5

• slides (animation)
• animated sun (animation - movement, size, color)
• in-class exercises

• Learning Processing, sections 4.6-4.7

• in-class exercises (solutions: #1-2, #3-4)

Week 4: 9/19-9/23

Topics: abstraction and modularity (functions); debugging

• Learning Processing, sections 7.1-7.6
  This reading skips ahead a bit in the book so some of the examples contain constructs (like if statements) that we haven't covered yet - don't worry about understanding those parts. Also, our use of functions will be limited to a very specific purpose - drawing complex shapes. (The book contains a more general treatment.) Focus on the examples of functions that contain only drawing-related statements (e.g. drawBlackCircle(), display(), drawCar(...)) rather than those that update variables (e.g. move(), bounce()).

• slides (functions)
• in-class exercises (solutions: #1-3)

• Learning Processing, chapter 11
  As with Monday's reading, the examples in this chapter contain constructs and syntax we haven't covered yet. Don't worry about the details of what the particular examples are doing, but instead focus on the ideas presented in the four tips.

• slides (debugging)
• in-class exercises (solutions: #1-3, #4)

Week 5: 9/26-9/30

Topics: self-similarity and fractals (recursion)

• Learning Processing, section 13.11
  The text makes some references to "loops" and "iteration" (which we haven't covered yet) and also includes an example involving returning values from functions (which we won't cover) - don't worry about those parts! Focus on the concepts of "self-similarity" and "recursive" and the various drawCircle() examples.

Slides:

• slides (functions - more about working with parameters)

• slides (lab 3 comments, recursion)
• additive pattern examples: snowman family, nested snowmen
• replacement pattern examples: Sierpinski carpet
• in-class exercises

• review information
• exam redo information - due Mon Oct 24

Week 6: 10/3-10/7

Topics: fractals; making choices

• slides (lab 4 comments)
• exam redo information
• slides (L systems)
• L systems examples: Koch snowflake, plant
• in-class exercises (solutions: #1)

• Learning Processing, sections 5.1-5.7
  

Slides and Examples:

• slides (conditionals)
• conditionals pattern - on the spot decisions
  • red rect ("to do or not to do")
  • red top half / bottom half (two alternatives)
  • red corners (more than two alternatives, "do nothing" not an option)
  • reset at edge (two alternatives)
• in-class exercises (solutions: #1, #2, #3)

Week 7: 10/10-10/14

Topics: making choices

• slides (conditionals)
• conditionals pattern - state machine
  • color change on click: red or white rect (two alternatives)
  • color change on click: red, white, blue rect (more than two alternatives)
  • move right, move left (two alternatives)
• in-class exercises (solutions: #1-2)

Week 8: 10/17-10/21

Topics: complex motion

• Learning Processing, sections 13.6-13.7
• Learning Processing, section 5.8

Slides and Examples:

• the CS major and minor
• slides (acceleration, physics - gravity, bouncing, air resistance, damping)
• in-class exercises (solutions: #1-3)

• Learning Processing, sections 13.9-13.10
  These sections get more mathematical, involving trigonometry. It's OK if you aren't familiar with sin, cos, polar coordinates and the rest of the math discussed - the key points to get out of the reading are the ideas that complex motion paths can be created by having the right equation, and the pattern in example 13-6 of local variables x and y whose values are computed using some equation.

Slides and Examples:

• slides (patterns for motion)
• examples of the patterns for motion
  • simple motion (update position - fixed speed)
  • random walk (update position - random speed)
  • acceleration (update position - update speed by fixed amount)
  • physically-based simulation (update position - update speed using formulas + bouncing)
  • random position (compute position - using random)
  • smooth random position (compute position - using Perlin noise)
  • sliding down a ramp (compute position - constrained motion)
  • circular motion (compute position - constrained motion)
• in-class exercises

Week 9: 10/24-10/28

Topics: repetition (loops)

• Learning Processing, sections 6.1-6.5, 6.7

Slides and Examples:

• slides (loops - questions and syntax)
• examples: stack of circles, diagonal line of circles
• in-class exercises (solutions: #1, #2)

• counting loops: four circles, 100 randomly-placed circles
• in-class exercises (solutions: #1, #2)

Week 10: 10/31-11/4

Topics: repetition (loops)

• slides (review of getting started patterns, conditionals patterns)
• in-class exercises (solutions: #1, #2, #3, #4)

• decomposing into loops
  • 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

Week 11: 11/7-11/11

Topics: more of the same (arrays)

• Learning Processing, sections 9.1-9.5

In Class:

• for #1
• for #2

• slides (arrays)
• animation, loops, and arrays
  • 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

• for #1
• for #2

• in-class exercises (solutions: #1, #3)

Week 12: 11/14-11/18

Topics: behavioral animation and emergent behavior

• review information
• exam redo information - due Tue Dec 13

• slides (boids and behavioral animation)
• videos (in addition to those listed in the slides)
  • how Massive works (software used in Lord of the Rings): part I, part II
• boids in Processing
  • wander (one behavior)
  • wander + seek (multiple behaviors active at once) - seeks the mouse position
  • wander or seek (choosing between behaviors) - seeks the mouse position when near the mouse

Week 13: 11/21-11/25

Topics: using images

• Learning Processing, sections 15.1-15.3

In Class:

• images

Slides and Examples:

• slides (loading and displaying images, tint())
• in-class exercises (solutions: #1, #2, #3, #4)

Week 14: 11/28-12/2

Topics: pixel-based manipulation

• Learning Processing, sections 15.5-15.6 and 15.10

Slides and Examples:

• slides (accessing pixel colors)
• exam redo information
• colored dot
• in-class exercises (solutions: #1-2)

• Learning Processing, sections 15.7-15.8
• Learning Processing, section 15.9 (optional)

Slides and Examples:

• slides (generating images, image filters)
• random image (example of generating an image)
• brighten (example of an image filter)
• in-class exercises (solutions: #1, #2)

Week 15: 12/5-12/9

Topics: more advanced image filters and image generation; principles of computer science; wrapup

• slides (convolution filters, generating images through 3D raytracing)

• slides (principles of computer science, applications, where to go from here)

Reading Period: 12/10-12/12

Exams: 12/13-12/16

• review information

last updated: --Wed Dec 7 15:28:07 EST 2016--
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