Processing

by Brian Hayes

Published 9 September 2007

As I was saying, I’ve been trying to get up to speed with Adobe Flash and ActionScript. I’ve also been looking into Processing, another programming language designed for creating interactive animations and visualizations that can be shared on the web. Processing was invented by Casey Reas and Ben Fry when they were at the MIT Media Lab.

It’s the only language I know whose name is a gerund.

There are other reasons for liking it, too. It’s free! And Processing is a big hit with graphic designers and artists, who have dreamed up an abundance of weird and wonderful stuff. A few samples: rubber, Ising eyes, sheep, Zip codes.

I haven’t yet done much in Processing myself, but I’ve been browsing in two new books on the subject:

• Ira Greenberg. Processing: Creative Coding and Computational Art. Berkeley: Friends of Ed. 2007.
• Casey Reas and Ben Fry. Processing: A Programming Handbook for Visual Designers and Artists. Cambridge: MIT Press. 2007.

Both recommended. Stay tuned for further word.

Tags for this article: computing.

Publication history

First publication: 9 September 2007

Converted to Eleventy framework: 22 April 2025