Comments on: Processing.js: Port of the Processing language to JavaScript and Canvas

By: F1LT3R

F1LT3R — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:46:09 +0000

I think Proceesing.js is a great idea. Personally I am not an applet or Flash fan as they are not transparent (metaphorically speaking). I have used the Canvas element on a freelance project for a large yachting company, so I can tell you that it is cross-browser. Processing.js is not completely cross-browser yet, but it is getting there because people enjoy using it.

I’ve been playing with it now for a couple of months and I’m getting some great results. If you’re interested in seeing what I have been doing with Processing.js, please come by and check out my experiments: http://hyper-metrix.com/processing/docs/

There is also a Processing.js Google Group which has some interesting topics. http://groups.google.com/group/processingjs

By: camaris

camaris — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:19:08 +0000

I like he processing.js library very much. Not that powerfull as processing itself (3D, very fast, …). But ideal to get to know probably the best software fo digital artistic experiments.

Here is my first processing.js example:
rotating music artist circle or http://server.camaris.be/php/jpg/versie2/sine4.html

By: JustinMeyer

JustinMeyer — Wed, 14 May 2008 23:57:17 +0000

Why not make a JavaScript API? But still awesome.

By: Joeri

Joeri — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:05:31 +0000

@naikrovek: with excanvas you can do some pretty nifty things using canvas, even on IE. For example, I used it for building an hourglass with animated grains of sand and dynamically rendered sand piles that looks identical across all browsers. Runs smooth as silk.

Although I do agree that flash is a much better fit for that stuff, because I’ve done things in flash that you can’t do in canvas (manage thousands of individual semi-transparent dynamically-rendered drawing objects for example).

By: naikrovek

naikrovek — Sat, 10 May 2008 10:37:26 +0000

The Canvas object is hardly widespread. It is widespread among web developers, but very few casual internet users I know have even heard of Mozilla/Firefox/Opera/Safari. They have lives to lead.

Processing somehow does applets correctly. My browser doesn’t even slow down when rendering them the first time after a reboot.

You can’t use the original Processing in an Adobe Air application for the same reason you can’t use a #2 pencil as an umbrella. (It wouldn’t make sense.) Besides, you wouldn’t want to – Flash can do everything Processing can do and more, and Flash *IS* virtually everywhere.

By: sciamop

sciamop — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:41:24 +0000

Interesting. I only gave Processing a cursory glance because it was a Java-based framework (that required a cursed Java applet to run in browser). Now that it’s been ported to JS/Canvas, I’ll definitely take a deeper second look. Good work!

By: Laurian

Laurian — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:28:33 +0000

You cannot use Processing as an applet in an Adobe AIR application, so this (canvas) is the only choice.

By: AaronHeckmann

AaronHeckmann — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:27:48 +0000

whether or not you think it was worthwhile, you must respect his accomplishment. Go John!

By: eskimoblood

eskimoblood — Fri, 09 May 2008 07:43:44 +0000

I don’t think it’s a waste of time cause using processing or the canvas are two different thinks. As the use of processing in the last years turn away from simple applets to application for vjing, installation, fabbing and so on. I don’t know about the performance of the canvas object but the js examples run smooth as the applets. Also you can easier communicate between html elements and the canvas.

By: triptych

triptych — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:31:03 +0000

You are missing the point. Canvas is ‘native’ to the browser and doesnt need to have a huge memory hogging java applet. This way the processing language is available to many more folks who may not have java installed, and folks who may have been turned off to processing because of the java requirement.

I could see other folks taking this and porting it to actionscript or silverlight as well… the more runtimes the better.

By: naikrovek

naikrovek — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:11:27 +0000

Dion said: “I look forward to seeing some fantastic visualizations in the browser thanks to this work.”

Processing already existed in the browser. It’s called Processing… which is a Java applet… which runs in a browser…

Seems like some wasted work, really. A Processing file doing a lot of CPU-intensive stuff will run an order of magnitude faster in an applet.