Clear, concise, very useful. Top notch Arduino info! | Programming Interactivity: A Designer's Guide to...

Interactivity | Programming Interactivity: A Designer's Guide to Processing, Arduino, and Openframeworks | Joshua Noble

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	• Programming Interactivity: A Designer's Guide to Processing, Arduino, and Openframeworks Joshua Noble O'Reilly Media, 2009 - 736 pages average customer review:based on 11 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Give this book a chance to meet your needs.

When I began reading (studying?) this book, I was a bit disappointed because of its emphasis on Processing and OpenFrameWorks which are two programming languages closely related to the Arduino programming language. I had purchased the book specifically to gain knowledge about the Arduino language and its nuances, and here I was being "force fed" more languages!
After reading the first Chapter or two, I laid it aside for a couple of weeks, hoping to sell it on e-bay or something. I picked it up again, thumbed to some random location in the middle of the book and found that I was "hooked". I downloaded the Processing language Development Environment as suggested in the book, found it was virtually identical to the Arduino language (from which it was derived), and was delighted that the book delved very nicely into the "nuances" that I had been looking for.
I have little interest in OpenFrameWorks language, but this book gives me everything I hoped for related to Arduino and Processing. It is thorough, simple when it needs to be simple, and more in-depth when appropriate. I recommend this book to anyone who has a desire to become proficient in the programming environment used by Arduino. (BTW...if you don't know what an Arduino is, you probably should NOT by this book!)

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Clear, concise, very useful. Top notch Arduino info!

Being new to programming I have purchased a dozen texts as of this last purchase "Interactivity". This is the only one of the twelve that got me coding straight away. Within twenty minutes I had something a little more interesting than blinking lights to look at. My home brew robot had an obstacle avoidance routine written and working. I have been adding to that program ever since, not laboring over seemingly hopeless examples of projects that just don't interest me.

If you just bought an Arduino, or have any other reason to understand and use a computer language this should be your first purchased. More than any of that (and that would be enough) this text is readable, enjoyable. I would reread this book just because I enjoyed the author's style of writing.

This book also offers you a bonus, this might scare off some that read other reviews or the book description: you will learn three languages simultaneously. This would seem like an impossible task for most folks intimidated by learning just one language, but the author demonstrates quickly how natural it is to learn all three side by side. What a boon to your knowledge base!

It is very rare a text book of such wide scope and usefulness is authored.

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Interactivity

Pros: Great overview and really useful especially for beginning. I'm kind of a give me diagrams of what it's supposed to look like and label what everything in the code or what is doing. This doesn't have much but more than enough information to figure it out.

Cons: This kind of gives a broad overview and skips easy to pick up details. Maybe you need a more specialized book if you really want to code something good. Likewise, code examples could be a little stronger/prevalent although the ones they have are great.

Also, I have the digital version. I recommend after all you need a computer to use the information in it anyways. The printed version is a bit thick.

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A Great Resource

This is a great reference for a fast moving area. The author doesn't get too detailed with each topic but he gives you enough to get started. I specifically appreciated the author's advice on OpenCV and OpenFrameworks.

3 different languages mixed

I got this book to learn openframeworks. A very good and complete guide, but a little difficult to read and understand because the author mixes three different languages: arduino, processing and openframeworks. I would have found more interesting a simple openframeworks book, a lot of information about the other two is already published.
I have also found some mistakes in code which have made me become crazy.
I recommend this book because i think it's the only openframeworks book option by now (FEB/2010).
I really liked the way that theory is explained, but codelines in this book aren't as good as i had expected.

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Make cool stuff. If you're a designer or artist without a lot of programming experience, this book will teach you to work with 2D and 3D graphics, sound, physical interaction, and electronic circuitry to create all sorts of interesting and compelling experiences -- online and off.

Programming Interactivity explains programming and electrical engineering basics, and introduces three freely available tools created specifically for artists and designers:

Processing, a Java-based programming language and environment for building projects on the desktop, Web, or mobile phones Arduino, a system that integrates a microcomputer prototyping board, IDE, and programming language for creating your own hardware and controls OpenFrameworks, a coding framework simplified for designers and artists, using the powerful C++ programming language

BTW, you don't have to wait until you finish the book to actually make something. You'll get working code samples you can use right away, along with the background and technical information you need to design, program, build, and troubleshoot your own projects. The cutting edge design techniques and discussions with leading artists and designers will give you the tools and inspiration to let your imagination take flight.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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