CPSC 120 Schedule

Week 1: 9/1-9/5

Topics: course introduction; algorithmic thinking; building blocks: shapes, coordinates, and colors

• slides: course introduction
• handout: in-class exercises

• 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: fundamentals of drawing
• handout: in-class exercises

Week 2: 9/8-9/12

Topics: creating scenes; interaction

• Learning Processing, chapter 2

• slides: comments on last Wednesday's in-class exercises
• slides: getting started with Processing
• example: car from the last page of the slides
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1, #2)

• Learning Processing, chapter 3

• slides: recap of drawing + interaction
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1-2, #3-4)
  • three circles (for in-class exercises)

Week 3: 9/15-9/19

Topics: animation, variables, and representation

• Learning Processing, sections 4.1-4.5

• slides: animation
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1-4)

• Learning Processing, sections 4.6-4.7

• slides: comments on Monday's in-class exercises
• slides: animation
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1-2, #3, #4)

Week 4: 9/22-9/26

Topics: patterns of change

• slides: patterns of motion (updating position)
• examples: (updating position)
  • steady motion
  • random walk
  • acceleration
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: worksheet, #1)

• Learning Processing, sections 13.6-13.10

• slides: patterns of motion (directly computing position)
• examples: (computing position)
  • random position
  • smooth random position (using Perlin noise)
  • ramp (constrained motion)
  • circular motion (constrained motion)
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: worksheet #1-2, #1)

Week 5: 9/29-10/3

Topics: abstraction and modularity — functions

• 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()).

• slides: comments on lab 2 (including revise-and-resubmit info)
• slides: functions (abstraction and modularity, function questions)
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: worksheet #1-2)

• slides: functions (syntax)
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1, worksheet #2, #3)

Week 6: 10/6-10/10

Topics: making choices (conditionals)

• Learning Processing, sections 5.1-5.7

• slides: making choices (conditionals questions and patterns)
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1-4)

• slides: making choices (if statements, implementing conditionals patterns)
• 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)
• examples: prior happenings
  • white-red-blue rect (more than two alternatives)
  • rect moving right and left (two alternatives)
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1, #2, #3)

• slides: comments on lab 3 (including revise-and-resubmit info)

Week 7: 10/13-10/17

Topics: making choices (conditionals); repetition (loops)

• slides: making choices (figuring out boolean expressions for conditions)
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1-4)

• review information

• Learning Processing, chapter 6

• slides: comments on Monday's in-class exercises
• slides: repetition (loop questions)
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1-4)

Week 8: 10/20-10/24

Topics: repetition (loops)

• slides: repetition (for loops, implementing loop patterns)
• examples: (repeat-as-long-as loops)
  • stack of circles (one loop variable)
  • diagonal line of circles (two loop variables)
• examples: (counting loops / repeat n times)
  • four circles (int loop variables)
  • four circles alternative (non-int loop variables)
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1, #2, #3, #4)

• slides: comments on lab 4 (and revise-and-resubmit info)

Week 9: 10/27-10/31

Topics: repetition (loops); topic: physics

• slides: repetition (identifying loops, nested loops)
• examples: (identifying loops, nested 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
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: worksheet #1-3, #5)

• slides: about topics
• slides: physics
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: worksheet #1, #2)

• slides: next steps in CS (for spring and J-term registration)
• slides: comments on Monday's in-class exercises
• slides: comments on lab 5 (including revise-and-resubmit info)

Week 10: 11/3-11/7

Topics: more of the same (arrays)

• Learning Processing, sections 9.1-9.5

• slides: comments on last Wednesday's in-class exercises (physics)
• slides: comments on exam 1
• slides: arrays and array-ifying sketches
• examples: 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)
• handout: in-class exercises
• starter code for in-class exercises
  • starter_goright, for #1
  • starter_wander, for #4
  • starter_wander2, for #5

• slides: common problems with arrays (forgotten initialization — NullPointerException)
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: worksheet #1-3, #1, #2, #3)
• starter code for in-class exercises
  • starter_goright, for #1
  • starter_wander, for #4
  • starter_wander2, for #5

Week 11: 11/10-11/14

Topics: topics: particle systems, behavioral animation, fractals

• slides: about topics
• slides: particle systems

• slides: comments on lab 6 (revise-and-resubmit info)
• slides: about topics
• slides: boids (behavioral animation)

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

Week 12: 11/17-11/21

Topics: topics: fractals

• slides: comments on lab 7 (revise-and-resubmit info)

• review information

• slides: L-systems
• examples: Koch snowflake, plant
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1, #2)

Week 13: 11/24-11/28

Topics: cellular automata

• slides: cellular automata

Week 14: 12/1-12/5

Topics: images, pixel-based manipulation

• Learning Processing, sections 15.1-15.3

• slides: comments on lab 8 (revise-and-resubmit info)
• slides: comments on lab 9 (revise-and-resubmit info)
• slides: revise-and-resubmit info for topics
• slides: images (loading and displaying, tint)
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1, #2, #3)

• Learning Processing, sections 15.5-15.6
• Learning Processing, section 15.10

• slides: using images as a source of colors
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1-2, #3)
  • starter_dot (for #1 in the in-class exercises)

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

• slides: creating images (image filters, generating images from scratch)
• examples:
  • brighten #1 (image filter, apply filter once)
  • brighten #2 (image filter, apply filter in every frame)
  • random image #1 (generating images, generate once)
  • random image #2 (generating images, generate every frame)
• handout: in-class exercises (solutions: #1, #2)

Week 15: 12/8-12/12

Topics: wrapup

• slides: wrapup
• SLFFs (you should have gotten an email with info on how to access them so you can complete it if you didn't do it in class today)

Reading Period: 12/13-12/15

Final Exams: 12/16-12/19

• review information

last updated: --Fri Dec 12 10:35:10 EST 2025--
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