Java
Programming for Artists
Department of Computer Sciences,
Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, Latvia
e-mail: veta@dau.lv
Abstract
Many artists can see the advantages
of high-level computer languages for realization of an artistic idea but can't
find the way in. Some people think that whatever it takes to make a good artist
makes it impossible to be a programmer. Nevertheless artists successfully use
technical tools and skills, if they see in them a resource of self-expression.
The approach to learning computer languages (on an example of Java
programming), which one designed specially for the artists is offered.
Introduction
There are two very different kinds of programming
activity: programming as software engineering and programming as an art. Standard curriculum of programming does a good job
of preparing students for the first kind. Probably, for this reason
there is an opinion, that good artists cannot be good programmers. Both of these approaches
are extremes.
Programming can be seen both as art and craft at the same time. It's craft in
its use of well known tools and techniques - patterns. But it's art in the
precision and elegance of fitting these to the problem domain, the generative
power of the resulting solution. If to count programming by art, it is obvious,
that creative people have all advantages to mastering by this kind of activity.
Some example university
courses geared towards teaching artists to program are given in Table 1. The instruction in these courses range from Java to
Flash.
Table 1. University course of programming for artists.
|
Course Title |
Instructors |
University |
|
Programming
for Artists and Animators |
Rhys Price
Jones |
Rochester
Institute of Technology |
|
Introduction
to Computer Graphics and Java Programming for Artists |
George Aroush |
School of the Museum of
Fine Arts Boston |
|
Computer
Programming |
Martin Dickey |
University of Washington |
|
Programming
concepts and applications |
Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design, ACCAD Ohio State
University |
|
|
Multimedia
Programming for Art and Design |
T. Calvert |
Faculty of
Applied Sciences at Simon Fraser University Vancouver, Canada |
1. Designing of
learning process
An
effective way to communicate and document processes and information requirements
is through the use the Integrated DEFinition (IDEF) technique [1].
The IDEF0 method is used to
specify function models, which are "what do I do" models. These are
descriptive models that show the high-level activities of a process. As shown
in Figure 1, the model indicates major activities and the input, control,
output, and mechanisms associated with each major activity.
Figure 1. High-level IDEF0 context diagram.
Inputs-Outputs. Inputs are transformed into
Output. Suggesting to artists to learn bases of programming we do not want to
transform good artists into bad programmers. We want to give them the proper tools, environment, and
flexibility to encourage creativity. Good programming,
simple and useful, transports the user, moves the user, opens up possibilities
that the user hadn't thought of before.
For learning of a suggested material it is not required special knowledge in
the field of programming. Students should have skills of dialogue with a
computer at a level of the computer user.
Controls. Controls
constrain and direct activities. Standards, plans, templates and checklists are
all forms of control. We can be limited to terms and curricula. Desire of
students to learn to program and desire of teachers to help to them in it direct
educational process.
Mechanisms. Mechanisms are the
resources and tools that are required to complete the process. This includes
people with particular skills, machines and other tools.
Teacher of
programming should see itself as a master craftsman who has apprentices and
journeymen coming from all over to view his code so that they may learn the art
of programming. He should be artist of programming and love the art.
The
choice of programming language is not the central issue in designing an
educational process. The hardest part about learning to program, in any programming
language, is not the learning of the language itself, rather, it is learning
how to approach the art
of problem solving with a computer. It
would be possible to teach this course in
any high-level
programming language. We use Java.
Developed by Sun Microsystems, Java is a programming language that is
specifically designed for writing programs that can be safely downloaded to
your computer through the Internet and immediately run without fear of viruses
or other harm to your computer or files. Using small Java programs (called
"Applets"). Web pages can include functions such as animations,
calculators, and other fancy tricks. Java is a simple, robust, object-oriented,
platform-independent multi-threaded, dynamic general-purpose programming
environment. It is best for creating applets and applications for the Internet,
intranets and any other complex, distributed network.
Figure 2. The level 1 IDEF0 diagram.
Figure 2 represents decomposition of process of
training. Training to programming
includes learning of necessary knowledge, training by technical skills and
application of these skills for self-expression. Practice and theory is the
best combination when you are learning programming.
One cannot learn to program just by reading a book. It is a skill that
must be developed by practice. Nevertheless, the best practitioners study the
works of others and incorporate their observations into their own practice.
After learning the rudiments of program writing, students should be exposed to
examples of complex, yet well-designed program artifacts so that they can learn
about the designing good software.
Students can learn to program by looking at good programs- not just at
what they do, but the source code too. One of the less publicized benefits of
the open-source movement is that it has made it easier to learn to program
2. Java as a Teaching
Language
Java is well on the way to
becoming the predominant instructional programming language. The reasons for
Java's success as an instructional language are basically the same reasons Java
became a successful object-oriented programming language in the "real
world." Java is relatively easy to use; it gracefully handles some of the
tedious programming chores other languages impose on programmers; and many of
its users even considered it fun to code in.
Java programming provides an objects-first approach to programming, the intensive use of object-oriented graphics, the use of event-driven programming from the beginning. There are several reasons that graphics provide a good setting for introducing object-oriented programming. First, graphics are good examples of objects. Second, the graphics classes provide excellent visual feedback for novice programmers. Third, graphics provide motivating examples. With graphics, very simple programs can become much more interesting to students. Moreover, once animations are introduced, it is easy to provide interesting examples. The event-driven programs allow a user to interact with them through mouse movements, buttons, scroll bars, and so on. The combination of graphics and event-driven programming supports objects-first approach. There are very good books devoted to Java programming which can be used in training process [1-8].
From the beginning,
students should learn how to write programs that involve simple graphics-
rectangles, ovals, and lines, for example, and programs that create graphical
animations. Students and instructors enjoy writing programs that involve
interesting, albeit simple, graphics. In addition to being fun, graphics are
very concrete. When a program involves drawing and manipulating graphical
objects in a window, you can actually see what the program is doing. This is
helpful for the beginning programmer.
First, graphics are good examples of objects. Graphics classes provide good examples of objects because they have state (their location and dimensions) and a useful collection of methods. Figure3 shows a fragment of a code and visual result of one of such examples. This simple example can be used for teaching such important concepts of object-oriented programming as an abstract class, inheritance, polymorphism.
|
Class Fragment{ int
x,y,a,n,k; Fragment(int
x,int y,int a,int n,int k){ this.x=x;this.y=y;this.a=a;this.n=n;this.k=k;} public
void draw(Graphics g) { } public
void movexy(int x, int y){ this.x=x;this.y=y;}} Class
Fragment1 extends Fragment{ Fragment1(int
x,int y,int a,int n, int k){ super(x,y,a,n,k);} public
void draw(Graphics g){ int xd,yd;double fi,r,xr,yr; fi=0; while(fi<k*Math.PI){ r=a*fi; xr=r*Math.cos(fi);yr=r*Math.sin(fi); xd=(int)Math.round(x+xr); yd=(int)Math.round(y-yr); g.fillOval(xd,yd,3,3); fi=fi+Math.PI/n;}}} |
|
Figure 3. Cycloid
as a object of a class "Fragment".
Students can use the graphics library throughout the
course.Classes of graphic objects created at the beginning
are used further for studying data structures, algorithms, for animation and
painting.
|
|
|
Figure 4. Cycloid
as parameter of function and as an element of a bidimentional array.
|
|
|
|
Figure 5. Variations
on a theme of a cycloid.
3. Conclusions
1. Programming is an art. Formulating solutions to
complex projects requires lots of creativity. Beautiful code and design
lasts like great pieces of art. The
biggest advantage of learning programming is that it offers new opportunities
for making art.
2.
The standard approaches
to learning computer languages may have to be different for the artist.
3.
Java a good choice for a first-year teaching language. The
object-oriented approach to programming is the most appropriate to be teaching
to artists.
4. References
[1]
Marca, SADT: Structured Analyses and Design
Technique. M.1988.
[2] Bruce Eckel, Thinking in Java,
Prentice Hall PTR, 1998
[3]
David Flanagan, Java
Examples in a Nutshell, O'Reilly, 1997.
[4]
Glenn W. Rowe, An
Introduction to Data Structures and Algorithms in Java, Prentice Hall
Europe, 1998.
[5]
Thomas A. Standish, Data
Structures in Java, Addison-Wesley, 1998.
[6]
Donald E. Knuth. Fundamental
Algorithms, volume 1 of The Art of Computer Programming.
addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, second edition, 1973.
[7] Kim B. Bruce, Andrea Pohoreckyj Danyluk,Thomas P.
Murtagh, Java: An Eventful Approach, Prentice
Hall Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
[8] Paul J. Deitel, and Harvey M. Deitel, Java How to Program, Prentice Hall
Computer Books, ISBN 0-13-034151-7
[9]
Patrick Naughton, Java
Handbook, McGraw Hill, ISBN
0-07-882199-1.
[10]
James W.Cooper, James
William Cooper, Java Design Patterns, ISBN 0-20148-539-7