Code Toolkit: Python, Spring 2024

Week 5 — Homework assignment

due: Tuesday, February 27, 8pm

0. Review this week's lecture notes.
1. There is also a reading and reading response due for next week. Please have a look at the schedule page for details.
2. Linear vs. nested looping. Think of this as a small experiment or exercise that does not need to be complex in any way. Create two static compositions (ie, don't use setup() and draw()).

   1. Create a composition using 2 separate loops, ie:

      while conditional:
          commands
      while conditional:
          commands
      

      Use these two separate loops to create two different linear repetitions. For example, a horizontal row and a vertical column. What kinds of composition can you represent with this structure?

   2. Create a composition using 2 nested loops, ie:

      while conditional:
          while conditional:
              commands
      

      Use this to create reptition that is not just linear, but two dimensional in some way. For example, maybe you could make a grid. Not a sidewalk, but a checkerboard. Think about the pattern of the nested loop structure and how it causes you to think in this a way like: for each row, create several columns. What kinds of imagery can you represent with this structure?

   Experiment with using the looping variables, so that with each iteration your shapes might get bigger, smaller, or the changes color (check out lerpColor()). If you add transparency to your color you can make really interesting patterns if your shapes overlap.
3. Repetition. Create your own "Sol Lewitt" in Processing. Create a new sketch. Start with a nested loop. Draw something in the inner loop. Maybe use line() or arc(). Create a repeating pattern. Experiment with using if statements inside your loop so that the various iterations behave differently in some way.

4. Bonus (lead in to next week). Have a look at this sketch that implements the basics of a "Space Invaders"-type game:

   space_invaders.pyde

   Think about how you might use conditionals to check for collisions between the bullet and one of the aliens. Could you somehow mark an alien as "hit", so that after colliding with the bullet either it would disappear or change color? This is a trick question as it is technically not possible yet given what we've learned. It uses something that we will learn next week.

   Try to write up some pseudocode that would describe how you would implement something like this.

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