We are looking forward to welcoming you to Getting Started with Coding bootcamp.
To get your coding journey off to a quick start we will be introducing you to a platform called Processing. Processing is a Java based language for learning how to code within the context of the visual arts. We use Processing on several EECS modules to teach core skills, and it has been used in many different situations from games and app development and prototyping to data visualization such as displaying catastrophic network failure.
Why Processing?
· It’s free
· It’s very easy to use
· It’s a simplified version of the Java programming language, which comes with a simplified development tool to write and run code
· It is currently used in several EECS Undergraduate and Masters modules
· As a complete language in its own right, Processing is a great way to teach and visualise computer science concepts for new coders.
Why not another language…like Python, Java or C?
· In 3 days we will teach you some of the fundamentals of coding. Although we will discuss Python, Java and no doubt C, the learning curve is much steeper with these languages and it will simply take much longer to go as far.
· Python, Java and C are very text heavy languages. This is great when you have more experience, however it makes the basics of understanding what your code is really doing a lot harder for beginners.
· Many other languages (with Python being an exception), require additional elements, such as text editors and compilers. Although you will understand what these are for by the end of the bootcamp, this all takes time in which you won’t be learning to ‘code’.
Unlike learning many other languages, where you can spend hours typing abstract lines of code with very little feedback, Processing enables you to visualise every stage of your programme from conception to completion. Processing’s simplified approach to the Java language minimises some of the more verbose syntax, enabling a better focus on what the code does and not just how it is written. Using Processing you will learn core and transferable skills, understandings and approaches needed to become a confident and proficient coder, and by the end of the 3 days will have an understanding of how this translates to other languages, platforms and environments.
Don’t worry if terms like run and compile already sound confusing and techy…they are actually really simple concepts that will be explained fully at the bootcamp (in accessible language for all).
