Processing: Creative Coding and Computational Art

PROCESSING: CREATIVE CODING AND COMPUTATIONAL ART
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Figure 2-2. Initial schematic sketch of tree branching structure.
The numbers represent the algorithmic branching order.
The drawing is a basic symmetrical tree structure in a purely schematic form. Between
each branch is a node. I added some numbers for the nodes to think a little how the computer
would sequentially draw the structure. So I was now ready for an algorithm that
would help me write code to generate the tree form. Again, the tree trunk was just going
to be a line, so I figured I’d come back to it. Here’s the branching algorithm:
1. Draw two or more opposing diagonal branches from the top of the trunk.
2. At the ends of these branches, continue adding two or more opposing diagonal,
slightly thinner branches.
3. Go back to step two until a specific limit is reached.
The algorithm seemed simple enough, and I noticed that it could possibly loop back on
itself—or even call itself. We call such an approach in programming recursion, where a
function calls itself. Recursion is a somewhat advanced concept, even though it is not that
difficult to implement. Recursion will lead to an infinite loop (a bad thing) unless some
explicit limit is set. For example, I could tell the program to run until one of the branches
touched the top of the frame, or until there are 700 branches on the tree, and so on.
After a couple of well-placed slaps to my head, I finally got the basic branching code written
(please note that this code fragment will not run in Processing yet):
void branch(Point2D.Float[] pts){
int stemCount=2;
if (counter2