Название: The Nature of Code: Simulating Natural Systems with jаvascript
Автор: Daniel Shiffman
Издательство: No Starch Press
Год: 2024
Страниц: 640
Язык: английский
Формат: epub
Размер: 45.2 MB

All aboard The Coding Train! This beginner-friendly creative coding tutorial is designed to grow your skills in a fun, hands-on way as you build simulations of real-world phenomena with “The Coding Train” YouTube star Daniel Shiffman.

What if you could re-create the awe-inspiring flocking patterns of birds or the hypnotic dance of fireflies—with code? For over a decade, The Nature of Code has empowered countless readers to do just that, bridging the gap between creative expression and programming. This innovative guide by Daniel Shiffman, creator of the beloved Coding Train, welcomes budding and seasoned programmers alike into a world where code meets playful creativity.

This jаvascript-based edition of Shiffman’s groundbreaking work gently unfolds the mysteries of the natural world, turning complex topics like genetic algorithms, physics-based simulations, and neural networks into accessible and visually stunning creations.

Embark on this extraordinary adventure with projects involving:

A physics engine: Simulate the push and pull of gravitational attraction.
Flocking birds: Choreograph the mesmerizing dance of a flock.
Branching trees: Grow lifelike and organic tree structures.
Neural networks: Craft intelligent systems that learn and adapt.
Cellular automata: Uncover the magic of self-organizing patterns.
Evolutionary algorithms: Play witness to natural selection in your code.

Shiffman’s work has transformed thousands of curious minds into creators, breaking down barriers between science, art, and technology, and inviting readers to see code not just as a tool for tasks but as a canvas for boundless creativity.

Whether you’re deciphering the elegant patterns of natural phenomena or crafting your own digital ecosystems, Shiffman’s guidance is sure to inform and inspire. The Nature of Code is not just about coding; it’s about looking at the natural world in a new way and letting its wonders inspire your next creation. Dive in and discover the joy of turning code into art—all while mastering coding fundamentals along the way.

The p5.js library is a reimagining of the Processing creative coding environment for the modern web. I’m using it in this book for a number of reasons. For one, it’s an environment that I’m very familiar with. While the original Processing built on top of Java is my first love and still what I turn to when trying out a new idea, p5.js is what I now use for teaching many of my programming classes. It’s free, open source, and well suited to beginners, and because it’s jаvascript, everything runs right there in the web browser itself—no installation required.

All that said, nothing ties this book’s content strictly to p5.js—or Processing, for that matter. This book could have been written with “vanilla” jаvascript or Java, or with any number of other open source creative coding environments like openFrameworks, Cinder, and so on. It’s my hope that after I’ve completed this book, I’ll be able to release versions of the examples that run in other environments.

The prerequisites for understanding the material in this book could be stated as “one semester of programming instruction with p5.js, Processing, or any other creative coding environment.” That said, there’s no reason you couldn’t read this book having learned programming with a different language or development environment.

If you’re an experienced programmer but haven’t worked with p5.js, you can probably pick it up by checking out the p5.js documentation.

NOTE: All examples are written with p5.js, a jаvascript library for creative coding, and are available on the book's website and its associated GitHub repository.