| SO FAR we have looked at the dynamically-drawn design applications of Processing. In addition to this important feature, Processing can be greatly enhanced with both the included and external, freely available "libraries." |
IN ADDITION to the concepts of dynamic drawing and text rendering outlined in the lesseons here, Processing also features native support for loading raster images with the ability to easily process images pixel-by-pixel. The core libraries in Processing 68 also include loading Quicktime video, and communication with the serial port. Once you become familiar with these techniques, you may want to extend the capability of your program by using extensions to add new capabilities to your designs.
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| The Myron extension for Processing offers designers the ability to manipulate real-time data obtained from a webcam device. This example creates a 3D form from the brightness values from a live webcam image. The TRIANGLE_STRIP polygon function is used to draw each horizontal line of triangles one-by-one. view source |
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| By integrating the nanoxml java classes into Processing, your programs can begin to exchange data with other applications via XML. This example displays the contents of a website visually by reading an XML catalogue of files and folders generated from PHP. view source |
| Useful Processing Libraries for Designers | |
| AI Export | This AI Export library adds drawing functions that can be saved as Adobe Illustrator files for print-quality visuals. |
| Animation | the Animation library aids in the creation of frame-by-frame animations. |
| Interfascia (GUI) |
The Interfascia (GUI) library offers a number of on-screen interactive widgets for easy implimentation of interactivity. |
| Myron | The Myron library gives the Processing designer access to webcam images at the pixel-level. It also includes a motion-tracking feature for tracking the 2D position of an object in the camera's field-of-view. |
nanoxml |
the nanoxml library, written for java but compatible with Processing, will convert an XML file from a String to a series of linked XML objects. Visit this thread on the Processing.org discussion board for installation instructions. |
| Simple-PostScript | SimplePostScript is a library for exporting many of Processing's drawing functions to Adobe Postscript files for print-quality visuals. |
| Sonia | The Sonia library adds advanced playback and synthesis of sound to Processing. |
| A more exhaustive list can be found on the Processing.org reference page | |