An Artist's Guide to Programming

Introduction

The Basics of a Programming Language: Processing

When someone programs a computer, they are really communicating with it. It is an imperative and precise communication. Imperative because the computer has no choice; it is being told what to do, and it will do exactly that. Precise because a computer does not apply any interpretation to what it is being told. Computers do not think and so can’t evaluate a command that would amount to “expose the patient to a fatal dose of radiation” with any skepticism. So we, as programmers, must be careful and precise in what we instruct the machine to do.

When humans communicate with each other, ...