Creative Computing

Joel Gethin Lewis

Unit 4 / Block 2: "Coding for Collaborative Web Development": Lecture 1: Node.js and JSON

Have you taken the register first? Are you recording?

What I'm going to talk about today:

  1. What questions to do you have for me?
  2. p5.js libraries for creating more complicated interactions.
  3. Using the terminal aka a command line interface.
  4. Node.js and npm - what are they? How to install and use them.
  5. JSON - what is it? How to use it in p5.js
  6. Glitch.com - what is it? How to use it.
  7. What questions to do you have for me?

0. What questions to do you have for me?

  • What questions to do you have for me?
  • What are your concerns? What are you worried about? What do you want to ask but you are embarrassed?
  • All questions allowed!
  • 5 minutes to message me on Slack in private.
  • This idea came from Zach Lieberman. He does this exercise at the start of every session of School of Poetic Computation in New York.

1. p5.js libraries for creating more complicated interactions.

  • p5.gui: useful for changing values of variables while your app is running - tuning as it were.
  • p5.SceneManager: useful for having multiple different "modes", "levels" or "menu's" in your app.
  • p5.play: "a p5.js library for the creation of games and playthings". Used to make LikeLike arcade. Check out examples.

2. Using the terminal aka a command line interface.

3. Node.js and npm - what are they? How to install and use them.

  • What is Node.js? "Node.js is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine". In other words, it's software that enables you to run JavaScript code on the server-side.
  • What is npm? Node Package Manager is the largest software registry in the world. It lets you download bits of code (aka modules) from other developers in an organised way.
  • Let's take a look at Matt DesLauriers' notes on Node.js and npm.
  • Four lists of useful node.js modules: 1, 2, 3, 4.

4. JSON - what is it? How to use it in p5.js

5. Glitch.com - what is it? How to use it.

  • Glitch.com is: "The friendly community where everyone can discover & create the best stuff on the web!🙋💖🎉". You can see from their Wikipedia article that they also make other things.
  • I love Glitch because it lets people deploy, share and edit node.js based apps SUPER easily and simultaneously. Everything on the site is open source and freely remixable. Their CEO loves Prince.
  • Please sign up to Glitch if you haven't already, and send me your Glitch username on Slack. I'm @JGL there. Then I can add you to the CCI Diploma 2019 team. Can someone make an avatar for the team? And a banner?
  • Let's take a look at some of the building blocks available on Glitch. There are loads of other collections too.

6. What questions to do you have for me?

  • What questions to do you have for me?
  • What are your concerns? What are you worried about? What do you want to ask but you are embarrassed?
  • All questions allowed!

Thanks!