Fractal.Invaders, Substrate (Interview with Jared Tarbell) - Processing

Synthesis 1: Form and Code
This unit presents examples of synthesizing concepts from Structure 1 though Transform 2.
The previous units introduced concepts and techniques including coordinates,
drawing with vertices, variables, iteration, conditionals, trigonometry, and
transformations. Understanding each of these in isolation is the fi rst step toward
learning how to program. Learning how to combine these elements is the second step.
There are many ways to combine the components of every programming language for
purposes of communication and expression. This programming skill is best acquired
through writing more ambitious software and reading more complex programs
written by others. This unit introduces four new programs that push beyond those on
the previous pages.
Artists and designers throughout the twentieth century practiced the ideas
and visual styles currently associated with software culture, long before personal
computers became a common tool. The aesthetic legacies of the Bauhaus, art deco,
modernist architecture, and op art movements retain a strong voice in contemporary
culture, while new forms have emerged through software explorations within the
scientifi c and artistic communities. The programs in this unit reference images from
the last hundred years; sampling from Dadaist collage, optical paintings, a twentyyear-old
software program, and mathematics.
The software featured in this unit is longer than the brief examples given in this book. It’s not practical to print it
on these pages, but the code is included in the Processing code download at www.processing.org/learning.
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