CPSC 120 Schedule

Week 1: 8/26-8/30

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

• slides: course introduction

• 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: building blocks (shapes, coordinates, and colors)
• handout: basic Processing (drawing)
• examples: simple drawing (in progress)

• Learning Processing, chapter 2

Materials from class:

• slides: getting to Linux and the lab handout

Week 2: 9/2-9/6

Topics: creating scenes; interaction

• slides: about in-class exercises
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1)

• Learning Processing, chapter 3

• slides: observations and notes from Monday (Linux virtual desktop quirks, navigating the filesystem, FileZilla, key points about Processing sketches)
• slides: active sketches and interaction
• example: interaction (rectangle following the mouse, handling mouse clicks)
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1-2, #3, #4-5)
  • three circles (for in-class exercises)

Week 3: 9/9-9/13

Topics: animation

• Learning Processing, sections 4.1-4.5

Materials from class:

• slides: animation
• example: animation (rectangle moving to the right)
• handout: in-class exercises

• Learning Processing, sections 4.6-4.7

Materials from class:

• slides: comments on lab 1
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1-3, #5)

Week 4: 9/16-9/20

Topics: abstraction and modularity

• Learning Processing, sections 7.1-7.6
  This reading skips ahead a bit in the book so some of the examples contain things (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 covers functions more generally.) 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()).

Materials from class:

• slides: functions
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #2)
  • snowman (for in-class exercises)

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

Week 5: 9/23-9/27

Topics: making choices — conditionals

• Learning Processing, sections 5.1-5.7

• slides: conditionals
• examples: 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)
• handout: in-class exercises

• slides: comments on lab 3
• slides: conditionals
• examples: state machine
  • white-red-blue rect (more than two alternatives)
  • rect moving right and left (two alternatives)
• handout: in-class exercises
  • starting code for #1
  • starting code for #2

Week 6: 9/30-10/4

Topics: debugging; complex motion

• review information

• Learning Processing, chapter 11
  As with the reading about functions, 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
• handout: in-class exercises
  • buggy_snowman (starting code for #1)
  • buggy_snowman2 (starting code for #2)

• Learning Processing, sections 5.7-5.8

• slides: comments on lab 4
• slides: complex motion (updating position: steady motion, random walk, acceleration, physics — gravity, air resistance, bouncing, damping)
• examples: (updating position)
  • steady motion
  • random walk
  • acceleration
  • physically-based motion (gravity, bouncing, air resistance, damping)
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1)
  • for #1
  • for #2

Week 7: 10/7-10/11

Topics: complex motion; self-similarity and fractals

• Learning Processing, sections 13.6-13.10

• slides: complex motion (computing position directly: random position, constrained motion, parametric equations)
• examples: (computing position directly)
  • random position
  • smooth random position (using Perlin noise)
  • ramp (constrained motion)
  • circular motion (constrained motion)
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1)
  • for #1

Materials from class:

• slides: comments on in-class exercises from 10/4 and 10/7

• 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.

Materials from class:

• slides: fractals (additive and replacement patterns)
• examples:
  • snowman family (additive pattern)
  • Sierpinski carpet (replacement pattern)
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1 — additive, #2 — replacement)

Week 8: 10/14-10/18

Topics: self-similarity and fractals

• slides: exam 1 redo info
• slides: fractals (L-systems)
• examples: (L-systems)
  • Koch snowflake
  • plant
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1 — L-systems)

Week 9: 10/21-10/25

Topics: repetition (loops)

• Learning Processing, chapter 6

• slides: careers in cybersecurity talk announcement (extra credit opportunity)
• slides: loops (loop questions and repeat-as-long-as pattern)
• examples:
  • stack of circles (one loop variable)
  • diagonal line of circles (two loop variables)
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1, #2)

• slides: careers in cybersecurity talk announcement (extra credit opportunity)
• slides: loops (counting loops — repeat n times pattern) — non-int pattern updated from class
• examples:
  • four circles (int loop variables)
  • four circles alternative (non-int loop variables)
• handout: in-class exercises — non-int pattern updated from class (solutions: #1, #2)

• slides: careers in cybersecurity talk announcement (extra credit opportunity)
• slides: comments on lab 6

Week 10: 10/28-11/1

Topics: repetition (loops)

Week 11: 11/4-11/8

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Week 12: 11/11-11/15

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Week 13: 11/18-11/22

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Week 14: 11/25-11/29

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Week 15: 12/2-12/6

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Reading Period: 12/7-12/9

Final Exams: 12/10-12/13

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