Lesson: Setting Up Processing

Are you ready to embark on an exciting journey where art, technology, and imagination converge? It all starts by downloading the processing software.

1. Downloading Processing

To download processing, access the link https://processing.org/download/ and select the option that matches your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux).

2. Installing Processing

The installation process will vary depending on your operating system.

2.1. For Windows

1. Double-click the downloaded zip file to open it
2. Drag the folder “processing-X.X” into any location on your computer (ex: desktop)
3. Launch Processing by double-clicking on the processing.exe icon

2.2. For macOS

1. Double-click on the downloaded zip file
2. Drag and drop the Processing icon into your “Applications” folder or to the desktop
3. Launch Processing by double-clicking on the processing icon

2.3. For Linux

1. Open a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T
2. Through the terminal navigate to the location of the downloaded .tar.gz file by using the cd command
3. Type the command tar xvfz processing-xxxx.tgz by replacing the xxxx by the correct numbers (matching the file name)
4. Change the directory to the newly created folder processing-xxxx by running the command cd processing-xxxx
5. Run the following command to start Processing: ./processing

3. Running Processing

To test processing and to ensure that everything works correctly, write the following code and then run the program using the play button.

size(500, 500);
circle(width/2, height/2, 200);

If a new window appears with a circle in the middle then processing is running correctly on your computer (reference in image).

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Processing and you’re only a few lessons away from creating your masterpiece! Remember to explore the documentation, tutorials, and online resources available on the official website or access the next lesson to learn more.

4. Summary

In this lesson, you learned how to download, install and launch processing on your operating system. You also tried to write code for your very first application. Can you try to create a bigger or smaller circle?