This is a “studio art course in computer science,” in which the objective is art and design, but the medium is student-written software. Rigorous programming exercises will develop the basic vocabulary of constructs that govern static, dynamic, and interactive form. Topics include the computational manipulation of: point, line and shape; texture, value and color; time, change and motion; reactivity, connectivity and feedback. Students will become familiar with basic software algorithms, including idioms of sequencing, selection, iteration, and recursion; elementary data structures (arrays, files, trees), object-oriented interfaces and functional abstraction, and other computational principles (randomness, concurrency, complexity).
15-104 satisfies the software skills portal requirement for IDeATe minors and concentrations. Students in both course numbers will develop an understanding of the contexts, tools, and idioms of software programming in the arts.